| Starset Horizons | 4.0 |
| STARSET, for myself, has always been a band I wished could overtake me. I'm an easy target for Dustin and Co., and while I've definitely enjoyed and digested their past output, I don't think I've ever felt quite this connected to it. HORIZONS reminds me of some of my favorite moments from the first trips I took with this band, but in a much more accessible and streamlined manner. HORIZONS is stripped of the convoluted interludes that plagued the entirety of Divisions and fragments of both Vessels and Transmissions. Further, it is a more focused- though less diverse- and powerful effort than the previous record, and feels slightly more intense than the first two STARSET outings. It is likely, far and away, their best effort lyrically, and could claim the same title in the sonic department.rThose positives granted, it is still plagued. For all of its faults, Divisions was experimental and somewhat forward-thinking in its songwriting. HORIZONS remains largely in mid-tempo prog-metal/rock territory, rarely dipping either into balladry or full-on metal. That does wear on the listener after awhile. Further, the album lacks a deeply-needed darkness and intensity towards the middle, and this does hurt it a bit. Nevertheless, this got me back into STARSET, and I don't think that accomplishment should be taken from them. |
| Schattenmann Chaos | 3.5 |
| This is an album with undeniable problems. The lyrics aren't always as strong as they could be and there's some bizarre decisions made in terms of the song-writing (quieting two guest vocalist parts in the mix, for example), but damn if this thing isn't a lot of fun. The album cover is mischievous as hell and that is probably the word best used to describe the vibe of this album. Pure and utter mischief, as it barrels through high-octane industrial metal that borrows from punk, Broadway, hip-hop, groove, and folk in equal measure. |
| Limp Bizkit Still Sucks | 3.5 |
| Ed Sheeran = | 2.5 |
| On the one hand, EQUALS is an ever so slightly less annoying romp from superstar-pretending-to-be-boy-next-door Ed Sheeran. There's more pop energy here, with both "Bad Habits" and "Stop The Rain" boasting funky beats and legitimately catchy choruses. While those two songs are easily the best and most coherent tracks here, other tracks like "2step" and "Collide" come close to meeting the same threshold of legitimate quality as the former two songs do. On the other hand, Sheeran is still stuck in milquetoast piano ballads and aggravating, painfully honest (not in a good way) lyrical storytelling. I'm glad you found a woman you love and are now fathering a child you love, Ed, but by writing about those topics in such specific terms, you lose the ability to relate with and/or appeal to those who haven't felt what you feel right now. |
| Gemini Syndrome 3rd Degree - The Raising | 4.5 |
| Starset Divisions | 3.0 |
| The most stunning thing about this record is how lopsided it ends up being. In truth, the first eight songs (with the exception of the ever-present unnecessary interludes) are powerful explorations of abuse, confusion, death, and exploration. Dustin can write and perform well. However, with the exception of "Trials" and "Diving Bell", the last half or so of the album suffers greatly. While it would be unfair to label any of the tracks here as outright filler, this area of the record gets the closest, and the album's length could've definitely been trimmed. Still, if you're a fan of nu, alt, or even industrial rock/metal, there's promise to be found here. |
| Grendel (NL) Harsh Generation | 4.0 |
| Ded School of Thought | 3.5 |
| School of Thought is not a bad album, or even a weak one; in my humble opinion, it is an above average rock/metal release that, when firing on all cylinders, does a strong job at blending nu-metal, radio rock, and metalcore. There's some pretty brutal riffs on display here, Joe Cotela has a great voice (though his screams have slightly declined in quality), and while the bass and drums don't quite hold as much weight on this one, when they shine, they really do shine. rWith that said... this is weaker than the band's debut, due largely to ditching a lot of the dark atmosphere and relentless throat-shredding that makes Misanthrope so captivating. Not quite a sophomore slump, but there's wasted potential here for sure. |
| Ded Mis-An-Thrope | 4.0 |
| The greatest strength of this project is just how fucking unrelenting it is. From "Architects" until "Beautiful", there really isn't a moment to breath. DED throw metalcore, nu-metal, and hardcore at you, hammering you over and over with massive riffs, ferocious screams, and acidic lyrics. This isn't a band that's interested in looking at the bright side or bringing a positive shine to the genre; they are angry, hateful, and bitter and goddamn it, they want you to know it. |
| Asking Alexandria See What's On the Inside | 2.5 |
| Right off the bat, I'll admit that I'm not a fan of Danny Worsnop's vocals or this subgenre of rock in general, but a few potent lyrics and some strong musicianship barely keep this thing from hitting the bargain bin. It is toothless aggressive music that takes little to no risk; its attempts to bring back the aesthetic of 80s glam rock/metal would be more appreciated if SOMETHING was done to spice up the old recipe, but on the whole, it's pretty stale. |
| Ministry Moral Hygiene | 4.0 |
| I'm a fairly liberal guy as is and I adore industrial/industrial metal, so this was bound to be a slam dunk for me. Even so, Ministry manages to weave plenty of musical influences through this ten-track assault, grabbing onto thrash, punk, rock, and pop to hurl insults at the insanity that is the American right-wing. |
| Combichrist Making Monsters | 4.0 |
| Combichrist What The Fuck Is Wrong With You People? | 4.0 |
| Combichrist Today We Are All Demons | 4.5 |
| Combichrist Everybody Hates You | 3.5 |
| Skillet Rise | 1.0 |
| Rob Zombie The Sinister Urge | 3.5 |
| Rob Zombie Hellbilly Deluxe | 4.0 |
| Lord of the Lost Judas | 4.5 |
| Project 86 Truthless Heroes | 5.0 |
| Fear Factory Aggression Continuum | 3.5 |
| Lindemann Skills In Pills | 4.0 |
| Lady Gaga Born This Way | 3.5 |
| Kittie Spit | 3.5 |
| Exfeind Exfeind Nummer Eins | 3.0 |
| Nonpoint The Poison Red | 2.5 |
| Cannibal Corpse Violence Unimagined | 3.5 |
| The Offspring Let the Bad Times Roll | 2.5 |
| AJR OK Orchestra | 1.5 |
| Cryptosis Bionic Swarm | 2.5 |
| 3TEETH 3TEETH | 3.5 |
| Disturbed Evolution | 2.5 |
| Disturbed Immortalized | 3.5 |
| Lady Gaga The Fame | 3.0 |
| Disturbed Asylum | 3.5 |
| Eisbrecher Liebe macht Monster | 5.0 |
| Love and Death Perfectly Preserved | 3.0 |
| Disturbed Indestructible | 5.0 |
| Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists | 5.0 |
| Deftones Gore | 4.0 |
| Deftones Koi No Yokan | 4.5 |
| Deftones Diamond Eyes | 5.0 |
| Deftones Saturday Night Wrist | 4.5 |
| Deftones Deftones | 4.0 |
| Deftones White Pony | 5.0 |
| Deftones Around the Fur | 4.5 |
| Deftones Adrenaline | 4.0 |
| Weezer OK Human | 4.0 |
| Disturbed Believe | 4.5 |
| Disturbed The Sickness | 4.5 |
| Thousand Foot Krutch Set It Off | 2.0 |
| Gemini Syndrome Memento Mori | 4.5 |
| Gemini Syndrome Lux | 4.0 |
| Mechina Siege | 3.5 |
| The Birthday Massacre Nothing and Nowhere | 3.5 |
| Static-X Project Regeneration Vol. 1 | 5.0 |
| The Devil Wears Prada With Roots Above and Branches Below | 3.0 |
| Trapt Shadow Work | 1.0 |
| Shinedown Leave a Whisper | 3.5 |
| Shinedown Us and Them | 4.0 |
| Wayne Static Pighammer | 2.5 |
| Nickelback Feed the Machine | 3.5 |
| Nickelback No Fixed Address | 3.0 |
| Nickelback Here and Now | 1.5 |
| Nickelback Dark Horse | 1.0 |
| Nickelback All the Right Reasons | 2.0 |
| Nickelback The Long Road | 3.5 |
| Nickelback Silver Side Up | 3.0 |
| Nickelback The State | 4.0 |
| Nickelback Curb | 3.5 |
| Kutless Kutless | 2.5 |
| Ra From One | 4.0 |
| Static-X Cult Of Static | 1.5 |
| Pillar Confessions | 3.0 |
| Pillar For the Love of the Game | 1.5 |
| Pillar Where Do We Go from Here | 2.5 |
| Static-X Cannibal | 2.0 |
| Static-X Start A War | 4.0 |
| Coldplay Parachutes | 4.5 |
| Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends | 5.0 |
| Coldplay X&Y | 5.0 |
| Static-X Shadow Zone | 4.5 |
| Static-X Machine | 3.5 |
| Nero Welcome Reality | 2.5 |
| 3TEETH Metawar | 3.0 |
| Skrillex Bangarang | 2.5 |
| Red (USA) Declaration | 4.0 |
| Red (USA) Gone | 5.0 |
| Red (USA) Of Beauty and Rage | 4.5 |
| Red (USA) Release the Panic | 4.0 |
| Red (USA) Until We Have Faces | 5.0 |
| Red (USA) Innocence and Instinct | 5.0 |
| Red (USA) End of Silence | 4.5 |
| Excision X Rated | 3.0 |
| Bring Me the Horizon Post Human: Survival Horror | 3.5 |
| Stahlmann Stahlmann | 2.5 |
| Static-X Wisconsin Death Trip | 5.0 |
| Combichrist This Is Where Death Begins | 4.5 |
| Combichrist We Love You | 4.0 |
| Eisbrecher Sturmfahrt | 5.0 |
| Eisbrecher Schock | 4.5 |
| Eisbrecher Die Hölle Muss Warten | 5.0 |
| Eisbrecher Eiszeit | 4.0 |
| Eisbrecher Sünde | 5.0 |
| Eisbrecher Antikörper | 5.0 |
| Eisbrecher Eisbrecher | 4.5 |
| Rammstein Untitled | 5.0 |
| Rammstein Liebe Ist Für Alle Da | 5.0 |
| Rammstein Rosenrot | 4.5 |
| Rammstein Reise, Reise | 5.0 |
| Rammstein Mutter | 5.0 |
| Rammstein Sehnsucht | 4.5 |
| Rammstein Herzeleid | 4.0 |
