Average Rating: 3.71 Rating Variance: 0.53 Objectivity Score: 68% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicAt the Drive-In Relationship of CommandThere is rarely ever a time I consider a record to be completely flawless. Seldom is there nothing whatsoever I can gripe about in an album. Relationship of Command is one of the only albums I can legitamitely say there is absolutely nothing wrong with. With such flawless transitions between songs, At the Drive-In perfectly fuses great amounts of emotion into each and every second. The drumming is great and fits with the songs well, the guitars are always original, and Cedric's vocal range, although it would be expanded in The Mars Volta, it is still greatly varied, going from a punk-ish deep voice, to high pitched (such as Pattern Against User), to occasional screams and yells. Off-key, but oh so wonderful sounding. Relationship of Command can't really be compared to any other album, even older ATDI works. It is quite possibly my favorite album of all time.Between the Buried and Me ColorsBetween the Buried and Me Colors_LiveBlack Sabbath Black SabbathCannonball Adderley Somethin' ElseCircle Takes the Square As the Roots UndoConverge Jane DoeCynic Traced in AirDeath The Sound of PerseveranceDeath SymbolicElliott Smith Either/OrElliott Smith XOIron Maiden PowerslaveThe definition of a metal classic. My personal favorite Iron Maiden album. This is one of those few records that doesn't seem to lose its momentum throughout its whole duration. Bruce Dickinson showcases some of the best vocals in the genre. Sam Harris' basslines are audible and distinguishable from the rhythm guitar, making the listen more interesting. Just listen to this album. Show it to anyone indifferent toward the metal genre. it's perfect.Iron Maiden The Number Of The BeastKendrick Lamar To Pimp a ButterflyI could be just giving into the hype but this thing is one unstoppable monster.King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson KingMiles Davis Kind of BlueNas IllmaticRadiohead Kid ASlayer Reign In BloodThe Dillinger Escape Plan Option ParalysisThe Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium4.5 superbAJJ Knife ManAphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92Arcade Fire The SuburbsArctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm NotArctic Monkeys Favourite Worst NightmareAtheist Unquestionable PresenceAutopsy Mental FuneralBathory Blood Fire DeathBetween the Buried and Me AlaskaBob Dylan The Freewheelin' Bob DylanBrand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside MeBrand New DaisyBright Eyes I'm Wide Awake, It's MorningBurzum BurzumCryptopsy None So VileCursive The Ugly OrganCynic FocusDeath LeprosyDeath Individual Thought PatternsDeath HumanDeath Grips The Money StoreDefeater TravelsDeftones White PonyDeftones Diamond EyesDJ Shadow Endtroducing.....Eminem The Slim Shady LPEmperor In the Nightside EclipseFear Before The Always Open MouthFlying Lotus CosmogrammaFrank Turner England Keep My BonesFreddie Gibbs and Madlib PinataGlassjaw Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About SilenceGodspeed You! Black Emperor F♯ A♯ ∞Iron Maiden Somewhere In TimeIron Maiden KillersIron Maiden Brave New WorldIron Maiden start off the new century with a surprise even bigger than computer still working just fine. Brave New World is a monster of an album, in the sense of both its length and quality. This sort of passion died off with Seventh Son and was never really brought back for all of the nineties. Maiden become a sextet with this album (bringing back Adrian and leaving Janick) and again incorporate keys. Like their last two not-so-stellar albums, this continues the trend of creating a longer record length. It doesn't drag on too much, surprisingly (certainly much easier to listen to all the way through than The X Factor). Pretty much, fans can calm down. The Maiden we missed came back with this one.Kanye West The College DropoutKendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d cityKiller Mike R.A.P. MusicLaura Stevenson Sit ResistMadvillain MadvillainyMF DOOM MM.. FoodNapalm Death ScumOpeth WatershedRadiohead OK ComputerSay Anything ...Is a Real BoySigur Ros ( )Slayer South Of HeavenSufjan Stevens IllinoisSwans The SeerThe Dillinger Escape Plan Calculating InfinityThe Dillinger Escape Plan Miss MachineThe Front Bottoms Talon of the HawkThe Gaslight Anthem The '59 SoundThe Mars Volta Frances the MuteThe Notorious B.I.G. Ready to DieThe Tallest Man on Earth The Wild HuntVital Remains Let Us PrayWilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot4.0 excellentAJJ People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest PeopleAJJ Can't MaintainAJJ Live At The Crescent BallroomAnimal Collective Merriweather Post PavilionAnimals As Leaders Animals as LeadersAt the Drive-In VayaAt the Drive-In Acrobatic TenementAt the Drive-In In/Casino/OutAtheist ElementsAutopsy Severed SurvivalBathory Under the Sign of the Black MarkBathory The Return of the Darkness and EvilBatten Down The Hatches Batten Down The Hatches/Random HolidayBetween the Buried and Me The Silent CircusBlack Star Black StarBomb the Music Industry! VacationBones (USA-CA) GarbageBones (USA-CA) PaidProgrammingBones (USA-CA) SKINNYBones (USA-CA) PowderBorn of Osiris The DiscoveryBraid No CoastBrand New Deja EntenduI have had a love/hate relationship with Deja Entendu ever since teenage girls got it on their hands. It seemed like just another great Brand New album until the Tumblr generation of girls started reblogging its album art and quoting lyrics from it all over Facebook. As unfair to the record as it was, I began to not be able to stand seeing anything involving this album anywhere. "What makes this album so special?" I would ask myself. "Why do girls love this record so much when they would completely surpass it with the next one?" I began listening to it more, and unfortunately, I still don't have an answer. I believe that The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me and Daisy are far superior albums to Deja Entendu, but looking at this record critically finally gave me some time to truly appreciate it. This is the album that took Brand New from being your everyday pop-punk outfit to becoming something truly great, fusing influences of post-hardcore and indie into their songs. Existentialism, loneliness, and other new topics are now discussed. This is the record that would slowly form Brand New into the introspective, dark band they are today. While I may never entirely understand the affinity girls have for this album, I still understand that Deja Entendu would change Brand New completely.Bright Eyes Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground Bright Eyes There Is No Beginning To The StoryBright Eyes Fevers & MirrorsBright Eyes The People's KeyBrockhampton SATURATION IIBurial UntrueBurzum Burzum/AskeBurzum BelusCannibal Corpse A Skeletal DomainCannibal Ox The Cold VeinConverge You Fail MeConverge Axe to FallCursive DomesticaDanny Brown OldDeath Scream Bloody GoreDeath Grips ExmilitaryDeath Grips No Love Deep WebDeath Grips The Powers That B - Part I: Niggas on the MoonDecapitated Winds of CreationDeftones Around the FurDevin Townsend Project AddictedEarl Sweatshirt I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go OutsideThe missing link between Earl (the mixtape) and Doris. His voice is finally less monotone sounding. There is a relaxed feeling in this album. While it still has its dark parts, I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside is overall a much more fun listen than Doris. The features are much better as well.Earth Primitive and DeadlyEl-P Cancer 4 CureEminem The Marshall Mathers LPEminem InfiniteExivious ExiviousFashawn Boy Meets WorldFear Before Odd How People ShakeFirst Aid Kit The Lion's RoarFKA Twigs LP1Frank Ocean channel ORANGEFrank Turner Love, Ire & SongFreddie Gibbs Shadow of a DoubtFreddie Gibbs and The World's Freshest The Tonite ShowA fluid mixtape that doesn't drag on one bit. At 10 songs, it's just enough to keep its listeners a mix of satisfied and amazed. Freddie sounds much more like his classic self here than on Pinata, probably because the beats are far more traditional and more like what he's used to rapping over. He sounds more old-school on this. The beats are nothing like what Madlib contributed to Pinata; they are quicker and more to the point. While Madlib's often jazzy production would go in several different directions, The World's Freshest goes down a much more straight line. I recommend this to anyone who appreciates and misses the feel of old-school hip hop. That feeling is here, just modernized.Fugazi 13 SongsFull of Hell and Merzbow Full of Hell and MerzbowI don't really know if calling this a "Full of Hell and Merzbow" album is justified because Merzbow's contributions seem mostly like a little layer of sound here and there for the most part, but this is a great record. The collaborative aspect seems to have refreshed Full of Hell's songwriting a bit.Ghostface Killah Twelve Reasons to DieImmolation Majesty and DecayIron Maiden Iron MaidenIron Maiden Piece Of MindIron Maiden Seventh Son Of A Seventh SonIron Maiden A Matter Of Life And DeathJanelle Monae The ArchAndroidJoey Badass 1999Joey Badass B4.DA.$$Justin Timberlake The 20/20 ExperienceKanye West Late RegistrationKanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted FantasyKendrick Lamar Section.80Kendrick Lamar untitled unmastered.La Dispute Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair La Dispute shows a great amount of potential with their debut LP, but it almost suffers from too much variation (which is something I rarely ever see as a bad thing). I'm oftentimes left overwhelmed at the huge difference between songs. Dreyer's clean voice also gets somewhat dry. Aside from this, the lyrics are fantastically written and you can tell how much time they put into each song.LCD Soundsystem This Is HappeningLil Ugly Mane Mista Thug IsolationLil Ugly Mane Third Side of TapeMF DOOM Operation: DoomsdayModern Baseball You’re Gonna Miss It AllModern Baseball look at their problems with Sports and manage to fix many of them with the release of eclectic album "You're Gonna Miss it All". This album may not look much different from Sports, judging by the simple and vintage looking album cover, the vague track titles, and the brief track lengths, but it is miles superior. The band change their direction musically, incorporating a more indie-rock sound in many songs and leaving the punk influence for just a few songs here and there. Tracks such as "Going to Bed Now" are given a folk-inspired tinge, showing us a different, slightly ironic side to the band. The lyrics are more mature, with social networking platforms being mentioned less. You're Gonna Miss it All is an all-around better album than Sports, and will probably quickly make the vinyl library of many skramz kids out there.Napalm Death Apex Predator - Easy MeatNapalm Death refuse to make any sense. Any pioneer of a prolific metal genre should be verging on irrelevant after 25 years of existence. But these guys just don't. This isn't simply a rehashing of their glory days either; this is a very original record with sounds and production at times that I can't compare to much other grindcore. The clean vocals, while sometimes a little cheesy, are a nice effect. Apex Predator/Easy Meat is a great example of what metal can be in 2015. I hope Napalm Death continue to be senselessly good.Periphery PeripheryPossessed Seven ChurchesRadiohead The BendsRadiohead A Moon Shaped PoolRegina Spektor What We Saw from the Cheap SeatsRun the Jewels Run the Jewels (Instrumentals)Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2Say Anything In Defense of the GenreThis is such an interesting record. Is a Real Boy, in my opinion, is a modern classic. In Defense isn't, but not in a bad way. It's obscenely long. That's about its defining point. This album is the length of a movie. There is much more variation to be found here, which works for the band at times and against them more than they would like. The lyrics are very good. The production is superior. Say Anything follow up their classic without letting hype and better tools for recording take away their songwriting quality.Scale the Summit MonumentSigur Ros Takk...Slayer Seasons In The AbyssSlayer Hell AwaitsSorority Noise ForgettableSufjan Stevens MichiganSufjan Stevens Carrie and LowellThe Beatles Rubber SoulThe Contortionist ExoplanetThe Dillinger Escape Plan One of Us Is the KillerThe Faceless AkeldamaThe Faceless Planetary DualityThe Front Bottoms The Front BottomsThe Number Twelve Looks Like You Put On Your Rosy Red GlassesThe Red Chord Fused Together in Revolving DoorsThe Roots Do You Want More?!!!??!The Roots Things Fall ApartThe Roots How I Got OverThe Roots undunThe Tallest Man on Earth Shallow GraveThe Tallest Man on Earth Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing BirdThe Tallest Man on Earth There's No Leaving NowThe Weeknd Echoes of SilenceThe Weeknd TrilogyThe Wonder Years Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm NothingThe Wonder Years The Greatest GenerationTitus Andronicus The MonitorTouche Amore Parting The Sea Between Brightness And MeTouche Amore Is Survived ByTwo Door Cinema Club Tourist HistoryTyler, the Creator BastardUnited Nations Never Mind the Bombings, Here's Your Six FiguresVampire Weekend ContraVampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the CityVeil of Maya The Common Man's CollapseVenom Black MetalViktor Vaughn Vaudeville VillainWintersun WintersunWomen Public StrainYellowcard Southern AirYou Blew It! Grow Up, Dude3.5 greatA Great Big Pile of Leaves You're Always on My MindAJJ Christmas IslandAntemasque AntemasqueArctic Monkeys Suck It and SeeArctic Monkeys AMASAP Rocky LONG.LIVE.A$APASAP Rocky At.Long.Last.A$APAtheist Piece Of TimeAutopsy Macabre EternalBetween the Buried and Me Between the Buried and MeBetween the Buried and Me The Great MisdirectBetween the Buried and Me present much originality here that has never been heard in their previous albums, but it oftentimes sounds too predictable and like they're trying to imitate Colors.Between the Buried and Me The Parallax: Hypersleep DialoguesBomb the Music Industry! To Leave or Die in Long IslandBones (USA-CA) DEADBOYBones (USA-CA) BansheeBones (USA-CA) UselessBones (USA-CA) PaidProgramming2Bones (USA-CA) DisgraceBones (USA-CA) UnrenderedMuch better than GoodForNothing or SoftwareUpdate1.0, in my opinion. There isn't as much variety as there is with most Bones albums (only one non-hip hop song other than the intro and outro) but overall a more consistent release than much of his past stuff.Brand New Your Favorite WeaponI think this album would be one of the best to introduce to your friend to "good pop-punk." If you were a teenager in the previous decade or the current one, you likely had at least one friend who listened to a lot of pop-punk. Some of it make have been good, but it my experience, I remember hearing a lot of All Time Low, Infinity on High and beyond-era Fall Out Boy, and American Idiot-era Green Day. Contained in Brand New's first album are ironic song titles (Jude Law and a Semester Abroad), songs about having a hard time growing up (Failure by Design), and about girls you just can't stand any longer (Mix Tape), but what separates this album from so many others is that it actually contains some originality. The album is very juvenile and immature for the most part, and that is why it is so fun to listen to. Whether you are currently going through the problems mentioned in the album or you are just reminiscing upon when life was that simple, Your Favorite Weapon is an undeniably fun listen. There are little hints here and there as to the dark, much deeper band that Brand New would become in the future such as in The No Seatbelt Song, but as a whole, this album is simple, light, and young.Buckethead ColmaChildren of Bodom Something WildClarence Clarity No Nowclipping. CLPPNGCryptopsy Ungentle ExhumationCynic Re-TracedDanny Brown XXXDaughters DaughtersDeath Spiritual HealingDeath MutilationDeath Reign of TerrorDeath Grips Government PlatesDeath Grips Fashion WeekDeftones DeftonesDrake If You're Reading This It's Too LateEarl Sweatshirt EARLEarl Sweatshirt DorisElliott Smith Roman CandleFall Out Boy Take This to Your GraveFall Out Boy From Under the Cork TreeFashawn The EcologyFatGyver Talk To StrangersFrank Ocean BlondeFrank Turner Sleep Is For The WeekFrank Turner's debut LP is more than just enough to perform, with catchy riffs, interesting lyrics, and a nice balance of emotion between songs. However, there is a bit of redundancy within the songs after listening to them a few times, so the appeal doesn't definitely doesn't last forever. This album will probably never be looked at as a classic by many people, but is a great, humble beginning for an acoustic musician with a huge amount of potential.Frank Turner Rock & RollFreddie Gibbs ProntoGates (USA-NJ) The Sun Will Rise and Lead Me HomeGhostface Killah and BADBADNOTGOOD Sour SoulLovely production, instrumentation, and rapping throughout this thing. Ghostface somehow manages to capture the soundscapes in Twelve Reasons and 36 Seasons in this, but with a totally different group of musicians. The general sound of this is not mutually exclusive from what he had going on with Adrian Younge; it's just a different perspective. A darker, film noir effect. Sadly, it seems that this is only a short film and not a feature length. It feels as if we only get a glimpse into the adventures of Mr. Starks and the Canadians. This means we can only hope for more.Hail Mary Mallon BestiaryHelloween Walls Of JerichoHelloween Helloween EPHow to Dress Well Love RemainsIron Maiden Dance Of DeathIron Maiden The Final FrontierEmphasis that this is a strong 3.5, verging on a 4. The Final Frontier is a memorable album. The songs are long but for the most part don't feel boring. In fact, they're all pretty great. They experiment more with prog in this album. Imagine if Iron Maiden never lost Adrian or Bruce in the 90s and kept building upon the sound they made in Seventh Son. It would sound quite a bit like this. Whereas A Matter of Life and Death had a somewhat raw edge, this record feels anthemic with crystal-clear production and heavy synthesizer use. Pretty much it's Maiden with their best lineup. Listen to it.Joey Badass Summer KnightsKanye West GraduationKendrick Lamar DAMN.Kevin Devine Make the Clocks MoveKid Cudi Man on the Moon: The End of DayLa Dispute WildlifeLa Dispute Rooms of the HouseMac Miller FacesMadlib Shades of BlueModern Baseball SportsWorking review summary: This is the album Modern Baseball will look back and cringe at 15 years from now for its confessional tendencies and references to social networking, and it is all the better for it.Municipal Waste The Art Of PartyingOFWGKTA RadicalPro Era PEEP: The APROcalypsePsyopus Our Puzzling Encounters ConsideredBetter than you might think initially, this band is more than a headache if you give them a chance.Radiohead The King of LimbsRandom Holiday Space to GrowRun the Jewels Run the JewelsRun the Jewels Blockbuster Night - Part IIRun the Jewels Run the Jewels 3Saul Williams Amethyst Rock StarScHoolboy Q OxymoronOxymoron contains some great moments, but has more spots of cheesiness than I would like to hear. ScHoolboy Q is kind of giving the "dad" feel with his music already. Hell of a Night sounds kind of like how a middle-aged person would interpret The Weeknd. Fuck L.A. sounds needlessly aggressive, and Yay Yay is a pretty awful closer, despite the fact that this is a gangster rap LP. Aside from that, this is a solid album. Songs like Los Awesome, Blind Threats, Break the Bank, and Groovelin Pt. 2 deserve the respect (imho) of Kendrick upon the release of good kid maad city. Album isn't too weighed down with features. All in all, despite a few blunders, Oxymoron gives me hope for hip hop's future.Skrillex Scary Monsters and Nice SpritesSlayer Show No MercySonata Arctica Winterheart's GuildSonata Arctica just keep on building upon and refining their sound with all of their first three albums. Silence fixed many of the problems that Ecliptica faced, and this one works on some of the issues of Silence. I can listen to this all the way through without even cringing too much, which for power metal sure is something. Two problems face this album, and it is the same two problems that everything they made prior to this one also had. 1) The ballad-like feel of some songs is just way too cheesy and melodramatic. I don't think they need to be aggressive all the time or anything, but they can't write a soft song without it sounding like it belongs in a Lifetime movie about knights breaking the hearts of maidens or something. 2) The length of this is still slightly bloated. It does not justify a 55 minute length.Sonata Arctica Pariah's ChildProbably my favorite album by the band, which is surprising considering this comes after their three album what-the-fuckery. This contains more of their traditional sound, but through much more mature perspectives. Speed isn't a priority, but the tracks don't drag on as in The Days of Grays. I probably like this as much as Winterheart's Guild.Sorority Noise Quiet HoursSorority Noise Young LuckThe Black Keys BrothersThe Damned Things IroniclastThe Mountain Goats Transcendental YouthThe Tallest Man on Earth The Tallest Man on EarthThe Weeknd House of BalloonsThe Weeknd ThursdayThe Wonder Years The UpsidesTouche Amore ...To the Beat of a Dead HorseTwo Door Cinema Club BeaconTyler, the Creator WolfVampire Weekend Vampire WeekendVeil of Maya [id]Venom Welcome to HellVenom At War with SatanWhitechapel A New Era of CorruptionWintersun Time IWren Rainy DaysXavier Wulf and Bones ダサいYou Blew It! Keep Doing What You’re DoingYou Blew It! by no means offer a whole lot new to the angsty emo table that they hadn't in their previous album, but that isn't the point. Keep Doing What You're Doing is a surprisingly cheery record and while it may seem a bit repetitive here and there, it is a pleasant addition to their discography. Grow Up, Dude may one day be considered a classic in the emo genre, and even though this doesn't quite live up to it, it's an excellent follow-up.3.0 goodAJJ Candy Cigarettes and Cap GunsASAP Ferg Trap LordAutopsy The Tomb WithinAutopsy's first material as a band in over a decade, and obviously their best since death/doom crossover classic Mental Funeral. The lyrics are, in my opinion, better than many of the lyrics on Severed Survival and Mental Funeral. There are still vile, but they have a sense of eloquence and aim for something other than pure shock. The way they are sung, however, is disappointing. Either Reifert's throat is a little tired from all that growling over the years or he was just sick in the studio. They are very loud, often taking precedence over the other instruments, and shouted in an oftentimes pretty funny way. Other than that, this is a solid EP and thankfully strays very far away from the crust punk- inspired Acts of the Unspeakable and Shitfun.Bathory BathoryBest Coast Crazy For YouBlind Guardian Beyond The Red MirrorCrisp production, harmonic vocals, but overall somewhat boring songwriting and wordplay. I still don't really get the genre of power metal for the most part so I don't feel that I can give this a "true" rating, but this is just one of those things I don't see how Sputnik adores I guess.Bones (USA-CA) RottenBones (USA-CA) GoodForNothingBones (USA-CA) SoftwareUpdate1.0Born of Osiris The New ReignBorn of Osiris A Higher PlaceChris Travis Forgive MeConverge Petitioning The Empty SkyCursive Mama, I'm SwollenCynic Carbon-Based AnatomyDevin Townsend Project KiFall Out Boy Infinity on HighFrank Ocean Nostalgia, Ultra.Frank Turner Poetry of the DeedGirl Talk and Freeway Broken AnklesHella fun, but not a whole lot of stuff going on. Girl Talk's beats are crazy as usual, but not all of the songs seem to go much of anywhere. The Waka verse is a nice touch. Tell Me Yeah is a great song. Excited for a full LP from these guys.Haywyre LotusOld-school as hell and simple. Easygoing keyboards and light percussion. Haywyre was much more of a traditional hip-hop producer at the time. Get your pipe out like the weird deer human and enjoy.Iced Earth The Blessed And The DamnedIced Earth I Walk Among YouIron Maiden Fear Of The DarkIron Maiden continue their nineties streak in a confusing fashion with Fear of the Dark. They still have a slightly stripped down sound, without the keyboards in Seventh Son and guitar synthesizers are used sparingly. The songwriting has jumped in quality from their last album, but that's not saying much. Bruce still experiments with a new, hard rock style raspy voice, but shows his real talent more often with this than on No Prayer for the Dying. Some songs (looking at you, Weekend Warrior) feel out of place. Overall, I just want to hear what Iron Maiden would sound like evolving their classic heavy metal sound rather than trying to reinvent the classic rock wheel 15 or so years after its time.Iron Maiden No Prayer For The DyingNo Prayers for the Dying shows that there is a difference between reviving a sound from the rpast and just imitating it. Sadly, it seems they do the latter more than anything else with rthis. They try to replicate the style of their debut and, to a lesser extent, Killers. Bruce rtrades off his operatic voice for a more scratchy sound similar to their past vocalist. This risn't really a bad album. If you listen to it alone, it is pretty catchy despite a severe rlack of depth and an over-simplification of the band's sound. It just doesn't shine much in rlight of any of their past efforts and isn't a great way to start out the 1990s for the rband.Kanye West 808s and HeartbreakKanye West YeezusKanye West The Life of PabloOrbs Asleep Next to ScienceGood in a weird way. Quite original instrumental work throughout. Runs too long and Fisher's vocals get old, but it's decent in small doses. Something Beautiful can forever get it, though.Pro Era The SECC$ Tap.E.Radiohead Pablo HoneySay Anything Say AnythingGotta emphasize that this is a low three. This is still definitely Say Anything, just with crystal-clear production and with a pop base instead of punk. This has mixed results. "Do Better" and "Less Cute" are good examples of this, but "Hate Everyone" and "Crush'd" are a little embarrassing. I found myself enjoying this more than I like to admit at times, because some of the songs are so damn cheesy but at the same time catchy. That solidifies Say Anything as more of a pop record than anything. This is a much different band than who we gleefully met in ...Is a Real boy and In Defense of the Genre, but they're not terrible... I guess.Sonata Arctica EclipticaSonata Arctica create an album that I can't quite call bad but that I can't say much else about either. The songs are plagued by mostly generic structures with solos littered clumsily in each song (there are some okay synth solos every now and then to at least switch it up). Tony is a good vocalist, but the harmonic singing in almost every chorus is horribly cheesy. The guitar work is fairly technical. The drums don't stand out grandly. The lyrics talk about somewhat more than the average album of the genre, with a song about governmental control and another with a fictional character undergoing a modern circumstance (something you rarely see in this genre). Sonata Arctica give a passable debut that is somewhat fun to listen to, but that few will look back at with wonderfully fond memories.rEdit: also, what is up with the Christian song telling the listener they're going to hell? lmao.Sonata Arctica Reckoning NightSonata Arctica SilenceThis album is much better than their debut Ecliptica. The synthesizers feel better placed, even if they do sound a bit cheesy still. Kakko's vocals fit the songs more for the most part. The production has improved. Their songwriting has some form of variation now, whereas with the first album every song felt structured together like bricks. The problem still remains with the cheesiness. The keyboards at times feel awkwardly placed, the voice samples at the beginning of one song just seems totally out of place for the genre, and there are too many sickeningly sweet ballads. I would give this a 3.5 for sure if they worked those things out. Lastly, this thing is way too long. It does not really deserve a length over 40 minutes, but they drag the affair out to over an hour.The Dillinger Escape Plan Ire WorksThe Front Bottoms I Hate My FriendsThe Wonder Years Get Stoked on It!Xavier Wulf and Bones Caves2.5 averageAlestorm Captain Morgan's RevengeAutopsy Acts of the UnspeakableMany Autopsy fans consider their work after Severed Survival and Mental Funeral to be less good, and a deviation from the sound of the band. It is true that Autopsy changed with this record. They started combining (crust?) punk and hardcore influences into the songs, and made tracks of shorter lengths. Aside from that, however, the band does have their old sound. There is a doom-y feel to some songs and solos in the same style as Mental Funeral. The lyrics are ridiculous as usual, but have reduced in quality. It feels as if Reifert was trying to shock listeners more by writing in a less skilled manner about topics more disgusting than before. After track nine or ten, the album really started to drag for me and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Where Mental Funeral might have felt a little too long, Acts of the Unspeakable feels horribly like it overstays its welcome. I guess to conclude, this album still contains the old band's sound to a degree, but are more tiring and come off as more boring.Childish Gambino CampI'm fairly conflicted over Donald Glover's musical project. It is entertaining, to say the least, to a see Community actor and 30 Rock writer rap about girls sucking his dick. The beats overall are good, but as a whole feel pretty sterile. They feel almost too clean, as if they were hip-hop samples found on a website. The dubstep-ish beat in Heartbeat and the speeding up orchestral part at the end of That Power are the most shining moments of the album beat-wise. The lyrics are okay here and there, but it feels like Glover's whole purpose for about half of the album is convincing his audience why they should be his fans. Despite the lack of real meaning within the lyrics, he can actually flow. Other lyrics on this album are about him growing up, his experiences with women, and pretty much why he is an awesome guy. The choruses are interesting because for the most part, he actually sings in them. His singing isn't terrible, but the lyrics he sings never really seem to relate to the song. Choruses such as in "That Power" seem more cringe-worthy than anything. Despite how otherwise talented Glover may be, his skills as a rapper are lacking. My favorite track from the album would have to be L.E.S.Children of Bodom Are You Dead Yet?DragonForce Valley Of The DamnedAbout the highest rank of power metal possible: okay but unmemorable. These were the young days of Dragonforce, before they were brought down by Guitar Hero and computerized solos. This album actually has an idea of how to structure songs. The self-titled track has an end solo. The "ballad" of the record has a piano intro accompanies by acoustic guitars. Despite these things, I don't want anyone to get the misconception that this was a different band. Aside from a different bassist (hence the lack of death growls), all of the members are the same that I know of. Solos still litter each song after the second chorus. The vocals are still cheesy. The lyrics are still senseless (at least as far as I'm concerned). I actually find the lo-fi production better than the too-clean, crisp production of Inhuman Rampage and their following albums, as it gives them a more gritty feel. Overall, if you hated Inhuman Rampage, you probably won't feel much better after listening to this. If you thought the band may have some potential despite glaringly obvious flaws, maybe this will do something for you. It did for me when I was thirteen as well.DragonForce Ultra BeatdownDrake ViewsDrake More LifeEminem RelapseEminem Relapse: RefillEminem RecoveryHammerFall Glory To The BraveIron Maiden The X FactorIf nothing else, The X Factor is definitely the most boring album Iron Maiden has put out to this point. Their first several albums are almost all considered classics in the genre of heavy metal. Even when they began to falter in 1990, No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark were at least definitely Maiden albums, and they weren't totally cringe-inducing. This album features a new vocalist. His voice is much more tiring than Dickinson. He tries to have just as powerful of a voice, but no one can be deceived. Despite everything bad about it, it is definitely an original album with a much darker tone and longer length. This isn't 100% awful but it's just not fun to listen to. At all. I can't imagine it being considered anything but average.Iron Maiden Virtual XIKid Cudi IndicudOG Maco OG MacoOG Maco is an interesting character which makes this entertaining and fun to listen to, but this album suffers from monotony and repetition so much that I don't know if I'll be okay if I hear "O.G.G." again. I had a good time listening to this, but it's not anything spectacular.Orbs These People Are AnimalsPretty big evolution in technique from their last album. Sadly it's a bit more clumsy. Asleep Next to Science was awkward in a small degree, and was an overall charming record for it. In this EP, the charm is lost as entire songs feel unfitting, both for the band and the genre(s) they experiment with. The change in tempo at the end of the first track does make me want to give this a 3, though. It almost saves it.Run the Jewels Meow the JewelsSonata Arctica UniaThe Roots ...And Then You Shoot Your CousinThis is one of those albums that I just don't understand how Sputnik sees the appeal of. This is their worst record I have heard (haven't listened to The Tipping Point).The Weeknd Kiss LandTyler, the Creator GoblinTyler, the Creator Cherry Bomb2.0 poorBig Sean Dark Sky ParadiseBones (USA-CA) TEENWITCHChildren of Bodom BlooddrunkChildren of Bodom Skeletons in the ClosetDragonForce Inhuman RampageFalling in Reverse The Drug in Me Is YouFalling in Reverse Just Like YouSurprisingly not as horrible as the album cover. Also somewhat of a step up from their previous album, which is surprising. Falling in Reverse become more comfortable with being men in their thirties making music intended for teenagers. I guess it's still monetarily viable. We'll probably stop seeing output from them whenever it's not.Go-Zen HinamatsuriI've never been the biggest grind fan, I'll admit. I've listened to my share of grind and I've discovered I typically like the more straight-faced, serious grindcore and maybe some more violent grind of the early 90s, which was more influenced by old-school death metal. GO-ZEN, an admittedly interesting grindcore band from Japan, is neither of those things. The drumming is pure blast beats, the guitar riffs are all similar. The production is horrible. The vocals sound like they're just messing around. I'm not sure if there are lyrics. The cover was more interesting than the listen.Sonata Arctica The Days Of GraysThe coolest thing about this album is the cover. Look at it nice and deep. Take time to enjoy it, because that's about as much artistic enjoyment you'll get from this entire thing. The instrumental intro track "Everything Fades to Gray" is kinda cool and an interesting way to start an album. Deathaura, the following track, is terribly deceptive into making you think this is going to be a good listen. It is a good song, not even too cheesy. After that, however, is an even worse version of the trash we heard on Unia. We get it, Tony Kakko has a nice emotional voice. We don't need several tracks of softness to showcase it. Their whole power metal tag gets dropped in this album with the exception of maybe two songs. People call this prog, but that is a tricky way to make it sound like something even remotely interesting.Sonata Arctica Stones Grow Her NameSonata Arctica is just a band you can't set expectations for. Their old fans miss their classic, dangerously fast epic style, while others would criticize them for having no depth. I am not with either dissenting group. I just wish they could make some music without so damn awkward. This isn't substantially worse than known piece of trash The Days of Grays, but still lacks any moment of interest. It's more simple and loosely put together than probably all of their previous stuff. It's boring even writing a sound off for this nonsense.Wiz Khalifa 28 GramsIf people didn't take Wiz Khalifa seriously, I wouldn't have so much of an issue with him. If he were just some guy who liked to smoke a lot who rapped in the corner at some parties and had a small three person audience of amused, equally stoned friends, it would be okay. But this guy has somehow gotten millions of listeners. There's nothing musical about this guy. His lyrics are not witty. Putting "mon" at the end of each line in an entire song is not clever, nor is it really even rapping. Also a Man of the Year sample? Way to spit over the most overplayed song of the year.rPs. James Bong? Dikembe and Dads got this weed pun in songs thing down so much better and neither of them even smoke. :V1.5 very poorBlack Veil Brides We Stitch These WoundsFalling in Reverse Fashionably LateNever Shout Never HarmonyRonnie Radke Watch Me1.0 awfulbrokeNCYDE I'm Not a Fan, but the Kids Like It!Ronnie Radke Fair-Weather Fans
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