| Lurcher Breathe | 3.0 |
| Don't pass up Breathe Out. Frontrunner for SOTY. Holy $#!%. |
| Monkey3 Welcome to the Machine | 3.0 |
| Swan Valley Heights The Heavy Seed | 3.0 |
| Grin Hush | 3.0 |
| Eye Flys Eye Flys | 2.5 |
| Occlith Gates, Doorways, And Endings | 3.0 |
| Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Fronzoli | 2.5 |
| Coltsblood Ascending Into Shimmering Darkness | 3.0 |
| Royal Graves Amen | 3.5 |
| lowheaven collapse | 3.5 |
| Johnny Booth Moments Elsewhere | 3.0 |
| Wand Plum | 3.0 |
| Saver From Ember and Rust | 3.5 |
| The Heavy Minds Beyond Gloom | 3.5 |
| Red (USA) Rated R | 3.0 |
| Restless Spirit Afterimage | 3.0 |
| Acid Magus Hope Is Heavy | 3.0 |
| The Gorge Mechanical Fiction | 3.0 |
| Johnny Booth Storyteller | 2.5 |
| Cursetheknife There's A Place I Can Rest | 2.5 |
| Fu Manchu King of the Road | 3.0 |
| Duskwood The Last Voyage | 3.0 |
| Faerie Ring Weary Traveler | 3.5 |
| YOB The Illusion Of Motion | 3.5 |
| Nebulae Come Sweet De Lumiére | 3.0 |
| Avenged Sevenfold Life Is But a Dream... | 2.5 |
| Gozu Remedy | 2.5 |
| Herod Iconoclast | 3.0 |
| Spotlights Alchemy for the Dead | 2.5 |
| I hate giving this a 2.5, especially after L&D, but that's what we're left with. Spotlights are drawing from a palette that clearly has so much potential, and yet the final product rarely hits home. |
| The Ocean Fluxion | 3.0 |
| DIRGE (IN) Dirge | 3.0 |
| Khan (AUS) Creatures | 3.5 |
| Hail the Void Memento Mori | 2.5 |
| Slumbering Sun The Ever-Living Fire | 3.0 |
| Ypres Solypso | 3.5 |
| The first half has its own thing going on, but the second half unapologetically borrows from Wavering Radiant. And wouldn't you know it, the second half sounds better. |
| Death Engine Ocean | 2.5 |
| Daevar Delirious Rites | 3.0 |
| Dread Witch Tower of the Severed Serpent | 3.0 |
| Chrome Ghost House of Falling Ash | 3.0 |
| Jaggu Rites for the Damned | 3.0 |
| Earthrise Until We Rest Beneath the Winter Way | 3.5 |
| Magnatar Crushed | 2.5 |
| Gavran Indistinct Beacon | 3.0 |
| Seum Blueberry Cash | 3.0 |
| The t/t might have the riff of the year. . . |
| Elder (USA-MA) Innate Passage | 3.5 |
| Russian Circles Gnosis | 2.5 |
| Norma Jean Deathrattle Sing for Me | 3.0 |
| I think it's abundantly clear now that this band really misses Jeff Hickey. Idk how you put this up against their last few and think it's in the same realm. 2.8/5 |
| Mountains (UK) Tides End | 3.5 |
| Middian Age Eternal | 3.0 |
| Art Of Burning Water Between Life and Nowhere | 3.5 |
| For fans of Secret Cutter and Bummer. Best to listen to it all the way through. |
| Kongh Shadows of the Shapeless | 3.0 |
| Meshuggah Immutable | 2.5 |
| Grief Circle Weightless | 3.0 |
| Endonomos Endonomos | 3.0 |
| Roseneath Shine | 3.0 |
| Mascara (FR) Cameo Blue Estate | 3.5 |
| Irist Gloria | 2.5 |
| Existence Dysphoria Minus Negative | 3.0 |
| Conjurer (UK) Pathos | 3.0 |
| Gloson The Rift | 3.5 |
| Conan Evidence of Immortality | 3.0 |
| Ire Wolves Heritage | 2.5 |
| Sasquatch Fever Fantasy | 3.5 |
| orphantwin Future Classic | 3.5 |
| BOG Remission | 3.0 |
| The Swell Fellas Novaturia | 3.0 |
| Museum of Light Horizon | 3.0 |
| Spiritbox Rotoscope | 3.0 |
| Besvarjelsen Atlas | 3.0 |
| Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Night Gnomes | 3.0 |
| PPC are at their best when they're bursting at the seams with energy, a la the garage rock exuberance found in Shyga. Only a couple tracks here manage to capture that vibe. Some of NG's songs to manage to be up-tempo but they're lacking in hooks. |
| Ufomammut Fenice | 3.0 |
| Humanotone A Flourishing Fall in a Grain of Sand | 3.5 |
| Norna Star is Way Way is Eye | 2.5 |
| Novarupta Marine Snow | 2.5 |
| Deathbell A Nocturnal Crossing | 3.0 |
| It's alright but I gotta say I prefer the doomier style of their first album. Hard to pick a comparison for this, maybe King Buffalo? |
| Tuskar Matriarch | 2.5 |
| Sasquatch Sasquatch | 3.5 |
| Arcem An Amalgamation of Loss, Defeat, and Renewal | 3.0 |
| Naxatras IV | 2.5 |
| Mountaineer Giving Up the Ghost | 3.0 |
| Fostermother The Ocean | 3.0 |
| Kurokuma Born of Obsidian | 3.0 |
| Fat Grass Shadows | 3.5 |
| Restless Spirit Blood of the Old Gods | 3.0 |
| Most of the title track is just okay but if you want one of the best outros of 2021, listen to the end of the song. No, not the acoustic outro. The heavy one. |
| Madmess Rebirth | 3.5 |
| Aequorea Dim | 3.0 |
| Toundra Hex | 3.0 |
| Spaceslug Memorial | 3.5 |
| SOM The Shape of Everything | 2.5 |
| Headless Monarch Titan Slug | 3.0 |
| Kadavar and Elder Eldovar - A Story of Darkness & Light | 2.5 |
| Torn From Earth Self | 3.5 |
| Garganjua A Voyage in Solitude | 3.0 |
| Khemmis Deceiver | 2.5 |
| Garganjua Through the Void | 3.5 |
| Apostle of Solitude When The Darkness Goes | 2.5 |
| Sheev Mind Conductor | 2.5 |
| Truth be told, this album is so close to being great. Maybe it needs better songwriting, maybe the riffs should go harder. Whatever it is, it needs something but I can tell they're close. |
| Don Broco Amazing Things | 3.0 |
| Green Lung Black Harvest | 3.0 |
| Bummer (USA-MO) Dead Horse | 4.0 |
| The best album to be released in the genre since Whores.' Gold. |
| A Pale Horse Named Death Infernum In Terra | 2.5 |
| Terminus (USA-AR) The Silent Bell Toll | 3.5 |
| LLNN Unmaker | 3.0 |
| Spiritbox Eternal Blue | 3.0 |
| BLACKSHAPE BLACKSHAPE | 3.0 |
| Pupil Slicer Mirrors | 3.0 |
| Wormsand Shapeless Mass | 3.0 |
| Lantlos Wildhund | 3.0 |
| Bummer (USA-MO) Spank | 3.5 |
| Massive RIP to this band. At least they went out on top. Do yourself a favor and listen to Dead Horse. |
| The Body / Bummer (USA-MO) Split 7" | 3.5 |
| Shun Shun | 3.0 |
| Delving Hirschbrunnen | 3.0 |
| The title track is dripping with Elder blood. The rest is decent. A slight step up from Gold and Silver. |
| Seum Winterized | 3.0 |
| Alastor (SWE) Onwards and Downwards | 3.0 |
| Cursetheknife Thank You For Being Here | 3.0 |
| Devil Sold His Soul Loss | 2.5 |
| Malammar Mazza | 3.0 |
| Bossk Migration | 3.0 |
| Teenage Wrist Dazed | 2.5 |
| Boss Keloid Family the Smiling Thrush | 3.0 |
| This isn't as much as a departure from Melted on the Inch as MotI was from Herb Your Enthusiasm, but this album does delve deeper into a proggy foundation. The quirkiness is stronger too. It's a case of Boss Keloid being unable to get out of their own way, leading to . . . mixed results. |
| Soilwork The Ride Majestic | 3.5 |
| Somnuri Nefarious Wave | 3.5 |
| King Buffalo The Burden of Restlessness | 3.0 |
| Conan Horseback Battle Hammer | 3.0 |
| Psychonaut & Saver Emerald | 2.5 |
| Secret Cutter Self Titled | 3.0 |
| Toundra III | 3.0 |
| Karp Self Titled LP | 3.0 |
| Psychedelic Porn Crumpets High Visceral Pt. 2 | 3.0 |
| Dvne Etemen Ænka | 3.5 |
| Crystal Canyon Yours With Affection and Sorrow | 2.5 |
| This one really lays on the syrup; too much so for my tastes. They did manage to gift us with Crush You though. |
| Powder for Pigeons Crackin Shells | 3.5 |
| A Winged Victory for the Sullen Invisible Cities | 2.5 |
| Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Shyga! The Sunlight Mound | 3.5 |
| YOB The Unreal Never Lived | 3.0 |
| O'Brother Garden Window | 3.5 |
| Sarin (CAN) You Can’t Go Back | 3.5 |
| Pallbearer Forgotten Days | 2.5 |
| The writing was on the wall after Heartless, but still. Man. RIP Pallbearer. |
| Bush The Kingdom | 3.0 |
| Evergreen (USA-AZ) Fables of Mercury | 3.5 |
| Palehorse/Palerider Fire Gone Out/Haxan | 2.5 |
| Netherlands Silicon Vapor | 3.5 |
| Nug Alter Ego | 3.0 |
| Netherlands Black Gaia | 3.5 |
| Bing and Ruth No Home of the Mind | 3.0 |
| The Atomic Bitchwax Scorpio | 3.5 |
| Palm Reader Sleepless | 3.0 |
| Yashira Fail To Be | 3.0 |
| Can't help but come away thinking they're trying to balance a few too many sounds at once. It's not bad but they'd be complimenting themselves so much more by focusing the direction a touch (the standout Impasse being an example). |
| Saavik Saavik | 3.0 |
| Forn Weltschmerz | 3.5 |
| Torn From Earth Loss | 3.5 |
| Dvne Omega Severer | 4.0 |
| Lo-Pan Colossus | 3.0 |
| The Ocean Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic | 3.0 |
| Hymn Breach Us | 3.5 |
| Fuzz III | 3.5 |
| Neander Eremit | 3.5 |
| SUMAC May You Be Held | 3.0 |
| Continuing the trend of each SUMAC record being weaker than the last, only this time there's a more significant drop-off. |
| Jupiterian Protosapien | 3.0 |
| Cloudkicker Solitude | 3.5 |
| Hail the Void Hail the Void | 3.0 |
| Narrow Head Satisfaction | 3.0 |
| Boris NO | 3.5 |
| Teenage Wrist Chrome Neon Jesus | 3.5 |
| Asian Death Crustacean Baikal | 3.5 |
| As Real Marveless | 3.0 |
| Irist Order Of The Mind | 3.0 |
| Spotlights We Are All Atomic | 3.0 |
| The Ocean Fluxion (Remaster) | 3.0 |
| Hum Inlet | 3.5 |
| Postvorta Porrima | 3.0 |
| Ghosts of Glaciers The Greatest Burden | 3.5 |
| Kokomo Totem Youth | 2.5 |
| Kokomo are capable of much more than this. Perhaps that's why this was released with little fanfare. |
| O'Brother Endless Light | 3.5 |
| Old Man Gloom The Ape of God I | 3.5 |
| O'Brother You and I | 2.5 |
| Ulcerate Stare Into Death and Be Still | 3.0 |
| I'm really not a dm guy, but even this one let me inside a little bit. Doom and post fans will like the middle section. |
| Elder (USA-MA) Omens | 3.5 |
| Dopethrone Hochelaga | 3.0 |
| Red (USA) Declaration | 3.0 |
| Ritual King Ritual King | 3.0 |
| Wand Ganglion Reef | 2.5 |
| Absolutely pales in comparison to Golem. Just skip this and listen to that one. |
| Loathe I Let It In And It Took Everything | 3.0 |
| Psychonaut Unfold the God Man | 3.0 |
| Watchtower (AUS) Radiant Moon | 3.5 |
| A Winged Victory for the Sullen The Undivided Five | 3.5 |
| Intronaut Fluid Existential Inversions | 3.0 |
| Garganjua Toward the Sun | 3.5 |
| Elder (USA-MA) The Gold and Silver Sessions | 2.5 |
| I definitely get the appeal but chill Elder isn't for me. |
| Monolithian The Finest Day I Ever Lived... | 3.0 |
| KEN mode Venerable | 3.0 |
| Noorvik Omission | 3.0 |
| Spotlights Love and Decay | 4.0 |
| Schematics For Gravity Schematics For Gravity | 3.0 |
| Cranial Alternate Endings | 3.5 |
| Herod Sombre Dessein | 4.0 |
| Johnny Booth Firsthand Accounts | 3.5 |
| Norma Jean All Hail | 3.5 |
| Fat Box Wasp | 3.5 |
| Forn The Departure of Consciousness | 3.5 |
| A Winged Victory for the Sullen A Winged Victory for the Sullen | 4.0 |
| PSOTY Sunless | 3.5 |
| A Winged Victory for the Sullen Atomos | 3.5 |
| Rosetta Terra Sola | 3.0 |
| Kerretta Exiscens | 3.0 |
| Wrong (USA-FL) Wrong | 3.5 |
| Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard Yn Ol I Annwn | 3.0 |
| Hegemone We Disappear | 3.0 |
| Cloudkicker Unending | 2.5 |
| In the Company of Serpents In the Company of Serpents | 3.0 |
| Russian Circles Blood Year | 3.0 |
| Ire Wolves Bleeding Aparte | 3.5 |
| Aseethe Throes | 2.5 |
| The Dillinger Escape Plan One of Us Is the Killer | 3.5 |
| Beastwars IV | 3.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Spires Burn/Release | 4.0 |
| Elder have demonstrated even better songwriting on other releases, but it's still Elder and it's still excellent. 3.8/5. |
| '68 In Humor and Sadness | 3.0 |
| Hundred Suns The Prestaliis | 3.0 |
| Comrades For We Are Not Yet, We Are Only Becoming | 3.0 |
| Gouge Away , Dies | 3.0 |
| KEN mode Entrench | 3.5 |
| KEN mode Loved | 3.0 |
| Pelican Nighttime Stories | 3.5 |
| Novarupta Disillusioned Fire | 3.0 |
| Chat Pile This Dungeon Earth | 3.0 |
| Workin on my ABS |
| Lo-Pan Subtle | 3.5 |
| Saver They Came with Sunlight | 3.5 |
| Dvne Aurora Majesty | 4.0 |
| Latitudes Part Island | 3.0 |
| YOB The Great Cessation | 3.5 |
| Dvne Asheran | 3.5 |
| Love Sex Machine Love Sex Machine | 3.5 |
| The Moth Gatherer Esoteric Oppression | 3.0 |
| In the Company of Serpents Merging in Light | 3.0 |
| Antethic Ghost Shirt Society | 3.5 |
| Rosetta Sower of Wind | 2.5 |
| Generation of Vipers Dead Circle | 3.0 |
| Windhand Soma | 3.5 |
| Turbowolf The Free Life | 3.0 |
| I like distorted riffs as much as the next guy. But this album relies on them a bit too much. |
| Dirge (FR) Lost Empyrean | 3.0 |
| Forn Rites of Despair | 3.5 |
| Gouge Away Burnt Sugar | 3.0 |
| Spaceslug Eye the Tide | 2.5 |
| Ufomammut 8 | 3.0 |
| Set and Setting Tabula Rasa | 2.5 |
| Fuzz Fuzz II | 3.0 |
| The Cartoons Death and Relaxation | 3.0 |
| The Ocean Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic | 3.5 |
| Mikal Cronin Mikal Cronin | 2.5 |
| Un Sentiment | 3.0 |
| Future Usses The Existential Haunting | 2.5 |
| SUMAC Love In Shadow | 3.5 |
| Secret Cutter Quantum Eraser | 3.5 |
| Quantum Eraser is the record LLNN wishes they had made. |
| Abstracter Wound Empire | 3.5 |
| Jakob Cale:Drew | 2.5 |
| Yashira Shrine | 3.0 |
| Kerretta Pirohia | 3.5 |
| Deathbell With The Beyond | 3.5 |
| Dopethrone Transcanadian Anger | 4.0 |
| Some of this is EW worship (no surprise given the band name) but it's done very well. |
| Night Verses From the Gallery of Sleep | 3.0 |
| Khemmis Desolation | 3.0 |
| Khemmis pull a Pallbearer by venturing into a more streamlined metal style and become less interesting in the process. |
| YOB Our Raw Heart | 3.5 |
| Fister No Spirit Within | 3.0 |
| YOB Clearing The Path To Ascend | 4.0 |
| LLNN Deads | 3.0 |
| Stake The Hutch | 3.0 |
| This started as me thinking it would be a 4, then a 3.5, but I have to settle with a 3. Every song on The Hutch has the potential to be great, but each one is missing a killing instinct. In the end, it's just "good." |
| Toundra Vortex | 4.0 |
| Fister/Teeth Fister/Teeth | 3.5 |
| Stake Kosmokoma | 3.0 |
| Gozu Equilibrium | 2.5 |
| Boss Keloid Melted on the Inch | 3.5 |
| Boss Keloid's style of sludge on their previous album was incredibly addictive, so it is a bit disappointing that it takes a back seat here. This is a proggier direction but occasionally still hits the spot. |
| The Atlas Moth An Ache for the Distance | 3.0 |
| Conjurer (UK) Mire | 3.0 |
| ISIS In the Absence of Truth | 3.0 |
| Batillus Concrete Sustain | 3.0 |
| Meshuggah None | 3.0 |
| Erdve Vaitojimas | 3.0 |
| Generation of Vipers Coffin Wisdom | 3.5 |
| Fu Manchu Clone of the Universe | 4.0 |
| Clutch Pitchfork | 3.5 |
| Thursday No Devolucion | 2.5 |
| Lento Fourth | 3.0 |
| Generation of Vipers Howl and Filth | 4.0 |
| It's disgusting how good this album is at times. Sludge/hardcore that brings the force of a steamroller. The closer could be a bit more punctuating. |
| YLVA M E T A | 2.5 |
| Comrades Lone/Grey | 3.5 |
| Menagerie (USA-KY) Menagerie | 4.0 |
| Lo-Pan In Tensions | 3.5 |
| Glare Of The Sun Soil | 3.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Dead Roots Stirring | 4.0 |
| Palehorse/Palerider Burial Songs | 3.0 |
| Ire Wolves Heirs | 4.0 |
| King Buffalo Orion | 3.0 |
| Antarktis Ildlaante | 3.0 |
| Sarin (CAN) Darker Lakes | 3.0 |
| Chelsea Wolfe Hiss Spun | 3.5 |
| Rosetta Utopioid | 3.5 |
| Well one thing's for sure, this isn't post-metal anymore. Utopioid is a logical progression in their discography and they have really carved out a sound that is all their own. Problem is, it is lacking in memorable elements. This feels flat at times, leading to a low 3.5. |
| Allochiria Omonoia | 3.5 |
| When Icarus Falls Aegean | 2.5 |
| Whores. Gold | 4.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Reflections of a Floating World | 4.5 |
| Sasquatch Maneuvers | 4.0 |
| Ufomammut Eve | 3.5 |
| The Egocentrics Love Fear Choices And Astronauts | 3.5 |
| Hymn Perish | 3.5 |
| Cranial Dark Towers, Bright Lights | 4.0 |
| Bereft (USA-WI) Lands | 3.0 |
| The first track is fantastic. It's unfortunate that the rest of the record isn't as strong. |
| Siberian (SWE) Through Ages of Sleep | 3.5 |
| Death Grips Bottomless Pit | 3.0 |
| Pallbearer Heartless | 3.0 |
| Pijn Floodlit | 2.5 |
| Hmm. Don't really see myself returning to this. |
| Metallica Hardwired...To Self-Destruct | 3.5 |
| Meshuggah The Violent Sleep Of Reason | 4.0 |
| Overmars Affliction, Endocrine...Vertigo | 2.5 |
| The Great Cold The Great Cold | 3.0 |
| Kokomo Monochrome Noise Love | 3.5 |
| Starts off very strong, but falters some in the second half. Still, this is Kokomo's best record so far. |
| Boss Keloid Herb Your Enthusiasm | 4.0 |
| Gozu Revival | 3.0 |
| Khemmis Hunted | 3.5 |
| Lantlos Agape | 3.0 |
| Humanfly II | 4.0 |
| King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Nonagon Infinity | 2.5 |
| Russian Circles Guidance | 3.5 |
| This one escapes as a low 4, but at this point, I'd like to see Russian Circles take some more risks. There is a lot to like here; if only it sounded a little more fresh. EDIT: Yeah, it's a 3.7 now. Juuuuust a bit too phoned-in at times. |
| Arapahoes Blood Moon | 4.0 |
| Tides Resurface | 3.5 |
| Norma Jean Polar Similar | 4.0 |
| Somali Yacht Club The Sun | 3.5 |
| This was impressive upon first listen but grew off me after a few spins. Some of it gets repetitive. 3.4/5 |
| Hive Destruction Hive Destruction | 2.5 |
| Earthmass Collapse | 3.0 |
| Kalpa (GR) Sequences* | 3.5 |
| Fields of Locust Subtopia | 4.0 |
| Vektor Terminal Redux | 3.0 |
| Izah Izah/Fire Walk With Us Split | 4.0 |
| Pallbearer Sorrow And Extinction | 3.5 |
| Netherlands Audubon | 3.5 |
| Pyramido Vatten | 2.5 |
| SUMAC What One Becomes | 3.5 |
| A very dense listen. This takes longer to digest than The Deal but it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. |
| Beastwars The Death of All Things | 3.5 |
| Doomtree All Hands | 3.0 |
| Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings | 4.5 |
| Kyuss Blues for the Red Sun | 3.0 |
| PSOTY Fragments Of Uniforms | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah Nothing (Re-Release) | 4.0 |
| Ufomammut ORO: Opus Alter | 4.0 |
| Bossk Audio Noir | 4.0 |
| Bossk .2 | 3.5 |
| Electric Wizard Come My Fanatics... | 4.0 |
| Album is great but the second half doesn't hit quite as hard as the first. 3.9 / 5. |
| Claude Debussy Nocturnes, L. 91 | 3.5 |
| Latitudes Old Sunlight | 3.5 |
| ISIS Mosquito Control | 4.0 |
| Wand Golem | 4.0 |
| Baryon Inauguration | 2.5 |
| Intronaut The Direction of Last Things | 4.0 |
| Blindead Affliction XXIX II MCMXCVI | 3.0 |
| Sarin (CAN) Burial Dream | 3.5 |
| Most of this is a massive ripoff of Isis. You feel like you've heard this before, but Sarin adds a slight touch of their own to make it interesting. It's worship, but it's not bad. |
| Undead Anna Undead Anna | 3.5 |
| Kyuss Welcome to Sky Valley | 3.5 |
| Heron and Crane Drat | 4.0 |
| Buffalo Rodeo Home Videos | 4.0 |
| Buffalo Rodeo 123 Water | 3.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Lore | 4.0 |
| Rosetta Quintessential Ephemera | 3.5 |
| Slightly more consistent than ADOM, but then, ADOM had a standout song in its title track. Nothing is on that level here. Eric Jernigan's vocals aren't the best fit but everything else seems naturally Rosetta (perhaps cleaner). |
| Pallbearer Foundations of Burden | 4.0 |
| Broods Evergreen | 3.0 |
| Comrades Safekeeper | 4.0 |
| If you have the chance to see Comrades live, seriously go do it. Their performances exceed the album. |
| Thousand Foot Krutch The End Is Where We Begin | 3.0 |
| Ramesses Misanthropic Alchemy | 3.5 |
| ISIS SGNL>05 | 3.0 |
| Alabama Shakes Sound & Color | 3.5 |
| ISIS The Red Sea | 3.0 |
| Beastwars Blood Becomes Fire | 3.5 |
| Normally if I end up liking 7 of 10 songs on an album, I give it a 4. But though many songs here are great, they tend to run together and need more differentiation. This is a solid listen but could stand to branch out a bit. 3.7/5 |
| Toundra IV | 3.5 |
| George Gershwin An American in Paris | 4.5 |
| As good if not better than Rhapsody in Blue, this is one of the quintessential 20th century American compositions. |
| Izah Sistere | 3.5 |
| Ufomammut Ecate | 4.0 |
| Red (USA) Of Beauty and Rage | 3.5 |
I'd like to give this a 4 but it lies at a 3.7 (correct rating, Ponton). While it would have been
easy for Red to re-hash their older material to make up to their fans after RtP, they did more
than that. I commend Red for carving deeper into their original sound, and not being afraid to try
longer song lengths and new musical structures. |
| Shepherd Stereolithic Riffalocalypse | 2.5 |
| SUMAC The Deal | 4.0 |
| Rorcal Heliogabalus | 3.5 |
| Jon Hopkins Immunity | 3.0 |
| Rosetta Flies to Flame | 3.5 |
| Rosetta Audio/Visual | 3.5 |
Seriously, listen to the opener and closer. Beautiful stuff. Most of this is nothing
groundbreaking because, after all, it is a soundtrack, but the music and textures are very solid. |
| Rosetta/Junius Split | 3.0 |
| Lantlos Melting Sun | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah Nothing | 4.0 |
| This might be just a touch better than Catch Thirtythree. It doesn't have a stand-out like, say, Dehumanization, but it's just so solidly consistent. |
| Dirge (FR) Hyperion | 3.5 |
| They were right. You really need to give this album some time. Upped to a 3.5. This album is not about the individual tracks; it's about the cohesiveness. |
| Meshuggah I | 3.5 |
| Whores. Ruiner | 4.0 |
| Cloudkicker ]]][[[ | 3.0 |
| xSPONGEXCOREx How Tough Are Yah? | 2.5 |
| Boris Noise | 3.5 |
| Meshuggah Koloss | 3.5 |
| Intronaut Prehistoricisms | 3.5 |
| Ulver Messe I.X-VI.X | 3.5 |
| Fair to Midland Arrows and Anchors | 3.5 |
Yet another album that I can add to my 3.7 collection. This record comes so close to being
"excellent" but its luster is somewhat immediate. I wish I could say that the musical
interludes add depth but instead come off as filler. About half of the tracks deliver the
payoff, and when FtM hits, they hit hard. |
| Bossk .1 | 4.0 |
| Fu Manchu Gigantoid | 3.5 |
| Whores. Clean | 4.0 |
| ISIS Celestial | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah Catch Thirtythree | 4.0 |
| This Will Destroy You Young Mountain | 3.5 |
| All the Empires of the World Return | 3.0 |
| Cloudkicker Portmanteau | 3.5 |
| Sasquatch III | 3.5 |
| IV seems to have aged a little better but it's still Sasquatch. They know how to do grimy, hazy, killer rock that keeps you coming back for more. |
| Plus One Obvious | 3.0 |
| Claude Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, L. 86 | 4.0 |
| Supercontinent Vaalbara | 3.5 |
| Cloudkicker The Map Is Not the Territory | 3.5 |
| Intronaut Valley of Smoke | 3.5 |
| Sasquatch IV | 4.0 |
| God Is an Astronaut The End of the Beginning | 3.0 |
| Latitudes Agonist | 4.0 |
| The Ocean Pelagial (Instrumental) | 4.0 |
| Naam Vow | 2.5 |
| Purling Hiss Water On Mars | 2.5 |
| Kokomo Kokomo | 3.5 |
| O'Brother Disillusion | 3.5 |
First half is great, sans the opener. Second half is good but contains a couple tracks that
hold this album back. Interesting vocals; somewhere between Thrice and Taproot; but it suits
the gloomy atmosphere well. 3.7/5 |
| The Haxan Cloak Excavation | 3.0 |
| Earthless From the Ages | 3.0 |
| Fu Manchu Signs Of Infinite Power | 3.5 |
| Pond (AUS) Hobo Rocket | 3.0 |
| Causa Sui Euporie Tide | 3.0 |
| My Bloody Valentine m b v | 3.5 |
| Russian Circles Memorial | 4.0 |
| Whereas Russian Circles excelled on their last two albums in creating songs that blended beauty and darkness into one, each song on Memorial is fairly straightforward in their respective styles. The heaviness is fulfilling but the gentler pieces leave a touch to be desired (the closer being the exception). 3.8/5 |
| Soilwork The Living Infinite | 4.0 |
| Burial Rival Dealer | 3.0 |
| Pomegranate Tiger Entities | 4.0 |
| All the Empires of the World Blessings | 3.0 |
| Cloudkicker The Discovery | 3.5 |
| Undeniably catchy instrudjental metal, though the album becomes somewhat redundant. Sharp also toys with a few ambient songs but these serve little other than to relieve tension. 3.7/5. |
| Intronaut Habitual Levitations | 3.0 |
| Fuzz Fuzz | 3.5 |
| Rosetta The Galilean Satellites | 3.0 |
| Intervals In Time | 3.5 |
| Rosetta A Determinism of Morality | 3.5 |
| ISIS Oceanic | 3.0 |
| Maybe I've been spoiled by the grandeur of Isis's other records, but this one feels lacking. Overdone vocals and musical ideas that tend to wander without ever finding their footing. It's a good record; perhaps not a great one. |
| My Bloody Valentine Loveless | 3.0 |
| Thrice Major/Minor | 3.0 |
| Sithu Aye Cassini | 3.5 |
| Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians | 3.5 |
| Gustav Holst The Planets, Op. 32 | 4.0 |
| Scale the Summit The Migration | 2.5 |
| Pelican Forever Becoming | 4.0 |
| Call it a 3.8/5. In other words, Pelican's best release. |
| Thrice The Artist in the Ambulance | 3.0 |
| A Pale Horse Named Death Lay My Soul To Waste | 3.5 |
| An entertaining gothic metal release blended with some doom, sludge, and even a little stoner. A couple tracks are blatant AiC ripoffs, and the ballads are weak, but there is plenty to enjoy here. |
| Latitudes Individuation | 3.0 |
| Scale the Summit Carving Desert Canyons | 3.5 |
| Rosetta Wake/Lift | 4.0 |
This is not the kind of record that will click upon the first, second, or even third listen.
"Lift" is largely uninteresting, but the rest of the album will take you on a journey through
space itself. Raised from a 3.7/5 |
| Chicago The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning | 3.5 |
| Side A is a 4.5. Side B is a 2.5. Final rating is a 3.5. |
| Electric Wizard Dopethrone | 4.5 |
| And So I Watch You From Afar Gangs | 2.5 |
| Claude Debussy Suite bergamasque, L. 75 | 4.0 |
| Claude Debussy Pour le piano, L. 95 | 4.5 |
| It's about time I rated something a 4.5. This is among Debussy's finest works for solo piano. Prelude and Toccata are as amusing as they are mesmerizing, and Sarabande is second only to Clair de Lune in terms of fragile beauty. |
| Trapt Someone in Control | 2.5 |
| Mogwai Young Team | 3.0 |
| Bassnectar Freestyle | 3.0 |
| If These Trees Could Talk If These Trees Could Talk | 3.0 |
| Bush Razorblade Suitcase | 3.0 |
| What a roller coaster of an album. Razorblade Suitcase ranges from truly amazing to downright boring. The sound is raw, even abrasive at times, and Gavin's lyrics are still enigmatic. Sit through all the filler and you'll find some gems. |
| Scale the Summit The Collective | 3.5 |
| Damascus Heights | 2.5 |
| King Crimson Three of a Perfect Pair | 3.0 |
| Damascus Of Whom I Always Think | 3.5 |
| Lento Earthen | 3.0 |
| Sithu Aye 26 | 4.0 |
| ISIS Wavering Radiant | 3.5 |
| Kokomo If Wolves | 3.0 |
| Omega Massif Karpatia | 3.0 |
| Omega Massif Geisterstadt | 4.0 |
| If Isis and Year of No Light had a child and sludge was the dominant gene, this would be it. 3.4/5rEDIT: Nvm, this is a 3.9. |
| If These Trees Could Talk Above the Earth, Below the Sky | 2.5 |
| Russian Circles Geneva | 4.0 |
| Almost as good as the album that follows it. I'd put this a tick or two above the Sputnik average. The second half of the album could use some trimming. |
| Fu Manchu In Search Of... | 3.0 |
| There are a handful of standout tracks with infectiously fuzzy grooves and chunky vibes, but for the most part, this album bleeds together too much. Only a few songs have a real identity. |
| Fu Manchu Eatin' Dust | 3.5 |
| Year of No Light Ausserwelt | 3.0 |
| Russian Circles Empros | 4.0 |
| King Crimson Discipline | 3.5 |
| Pelican Australasia | 3.0 |
| ISIS Panopticon | 4.5 |
| Fleetwood Mac Rumours | 5.0 |
| Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold | 3.5 |
| A7X's self-titled album is incredibly experimental, but the crazy part is...most of it works. Albeit, it's not something they should attempt again. Auto-tune, country guitar styles, political rants, they all make appearances. Aside from the joke of a final track, this album has some tasty material. |
| Metallica Death Magnetic | 4.0 |
| Chevelle Vena Sera | 4.5 |
| Almost every song here just flat-out rocks. Vena Sera showcases a tight, energetic sound as Chevelle presents their heavier side. The album loses focus in a few spots, but this is about as high as a 4 can be. (Screw that, 4.5). |
| Bassnectar Timestretch | 3.5 |
| Red (USA) Innocence and Instinct | 3.0 |
| Three Days Grace Life Starts Now | 2.5 |
| Red (USA) Until We Have Faces | 3.5 |
| As others have pointed out, this album is a grower. The problem is that several songs here had the potential to be great but fell just short. Having said that, UWHF is bolstered by some of Red's best music to date (see "Feed the Machine"), and after a few listens, the strengths of other songs become apparent. |
| Metallica Beyond Magnetic | 3.0 |
| It's clear why these didn't make the DM cut. The tunes suffer from awkward transitions and occasionally laughable lyrics. Still, it has its moments and there's some enjoyable riffage, barely keeping Beyond Magnetic above a 2.5. |
| Adrian Belew Mr. Music Head | 4.0 |
| Adrian Belew's musical prowess is in full swing here, as he displays his versatility and writing ability. |
| Chicago Chicago X | 4.0 |
| The final installment of Chicago's rock/pop rock days. A fun and catchy album that shows off the talents of every band member and perfectly blends Chicago's distinct sound. |
