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New Music Report – January 28, 2022
Short one this week, not a ton to cover, but that’s not necessarily irregular for this time of the year. Yet more deathcore, not that I’m complaining, but it looks like we’re getting some metalcore next week, to change things up ever so slightly.
Last Ten Seconds of Life – This album is pretty cool. I know it’s still early, but man, we’ve been absolutely inundated with deathcore so far this year. They’ve all had their own flavor, but this one is probably the most different of the bunch, this has slow, grinding, sludgey elements that I really appreciate. I mean, it’s not my favorite (that’s still Enterprise Earth), but it’s a nice change.
Singles/Albums – Angelmaker (Deathcore), Northlane (Nu-Metalcore), Greyhaven (Southern Metalcore), Vein.fm (Nu-Metalcore), Meshuggah (Progressive Metal), Carpenter Brut Feat. Greg Puciato (Darksynth), Thornhill (Progressive Metalcore)
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New Music Report – January 21, 2022
The world is still starting to pick up again after the new year, there usually aren’t any releases this early on that I’ve been this excited about, but every single album I’ve covered so far as been brilliant. These two this week could not possibly be more different but I love them both.
Comeback Kid – Sometimes all you really need is just a straight up hardcore record, and you’ve been able to count on Comeback Kid for just that for over 20 years now. As a result, you kind of always know what you’re going to get with a Comeback Kid album, but not in a bad way. It never felt stale or old, it was familiar and comfortable, aggressive and cathartic. Just like this new album is.
Ludovico Einaudi – This album is beautiful. I’ve mentioned this guy before, he’s basically a neo-classical composer that I found through an episode of Top Gear 15 years ago and I’ve been hooked on everything he’s done ever since. This is one of those pieces of music that is simply relaxing. I don’t listen to a lot of relaxing music, but this is incredibly calming and honestly, who doesn’t need that every once in a while?
Singles/Albums – Northlane (Nu-Metalcore), Erra (Metalcore), Boris (LP, Post Rock), Halo Effect (Death Metal, this is basically members of In Flames from the 90s), For Fear Itself (EP, Metalcore), Wolves at the Gate (Post-Hardcore), Hot Water Music (Post-Hardcore), Zeal & Ardor (Avant Garde Metal)
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New Music Report – January 14, 2022
Welcome to the first new music post of 2022! I know I said I was going to rethink these, but I do really enjoy them, so I’m going to keep them going. I’m just going to shorten them up a bit. My old reviews were about 12 lines each, I’m going to try to keep these short and sweet and keep them under 5, that should make it a lot more manageable. And let’s be honest, we’re mostly here for the playlist. Anyway, today is deathcore day. Underoath also put out an album and that’s really cool, but I’m going to focus on the four HUGE deathcore releases this week.
Fit For an Autopsy – These guys are my favorite band out of the bunch that released albums today. They managed to combine so many different elements from metal into their sound, and it really forces you to look at deathcore from a new perspective, there’s bits of metalcore, apparently mathcore now, some thrash, death metal, etc, and it’s all put together brilliantly cause Will Putney is a genius. This album is more of the same, not quite as melodic as their last album, and maybe not their best, but still very consistently good.
Shadow of Intent – Chris Wiseman, the primary songwriter of Shadow of Intent, is also the genius behind Currents, so I’ve always loved this band. That dude is just an incredible songwriter. And the cool thing about this album, is you can start to see the lines between the two projects blurring just a little bit, while still maintaining their own identity. It’s much more varied and diverse than I was expecting, which is good since it’s such a long album. I was really, really impressed with this one.
Worm Shepherd – I didn’t know much about this band before this weekend. . I had heard a couple singles and I knew they played blackened deathcore which has become a quite popular subgenre lately, and that’s about it. But these guys are filthy. It’s some of the darkest, heaviest blackened deathcore out there, and – I am not exaggerating when I say this – features the fastest double bass section I’ve ever heard. This album is by far the darkest out of the bunch, and quite possibly the heaviest.
Enterprise Earth – I was honestly expecting to like this album the least, and while none of them disappointed, this one blew me away. Maybe it’s because it’s the one that exceeded my expectations the most, but holy hell, this is amazing. First off, it’s very hard to make a 1+ hour deathcore album that isn’t boring, but with a diverse mix of songwriting, just the right amount of clean vocals, breakdowns, etc. Enterprise Earth absolutely nailed this one. This will likely end up on my AOTY list, which is a bold statement two weeks into the year.
Singles/Albums – Vein.fm (Hardcore), Loathe (Deftonescore), Underoath (LP, Post-Hardcore/Nu-Metalcore), Bonobo (LP, Downtempo), Toundra (LP, Post Rock), Burial (EP, Ambient), A Wilhelm Scream (Punk), Dark Funeral (Black Metal), Darko (Deathcore), Landmvrks (Metalcore), As Within, So Without (LP, Metalcore), Venom Prison (Death Metal), Cult of Luna (Post-Metal), Circa Surivive (Post Hardcore), Mono (Post-Rock)
Best of 2021
Following all the new releases this year has been a big challenge for me. First, my typical news/leak source shut down on the first of the year, then life just kind of got in the way, as it does. But overall, I wrote up 50 pages of album reviews, made a playlist of over 620 songs, and tracked over 250 releases. As always, I’ve absolutely loved every second of it, even if I didn’t do a great job keeping up with it towards the end of the year.
As I said, I’m going to take this time off at the end of the year to figure out how/if I plan on continuing this in the new year, but honestly, I would really like to. So even if it’s scaled back a bit, you can still expect to see at least something from me to help keep track of all the new releases in 2022. But we’re not quite done with 2021 yet, I want to take a minute to go over all my favorite albums and EPs from this past year.
First off, a few observations. Man, this is basically all metal. Over the years, these lists have usually been a lot more diverse, but this is all fairly uniform. I don’t know if I was just on a one-track mind this year, or if metal was just really batting 100. I think, if I had to guess, it was kind of the latter. I also took the time to really dig in and explore different genres of heavy music; I got into a lot of deathcore this year, some death metal, etc. And I’m glad I got to experience all that, cause metal has really been doing some great, creative things these past few years. I feel like I may have missed out on a few post-rock releases, and a few other genres that I tend to follow, as well, but that will be a goal for next year. This may not be the most diverse representation of genres, but I’m incredibly happy with what I found.
Also, I can’t remember a year that has ever had this many good EP releases. Usually, I’ll mention one just as an honorable mention type thing, but every EP I mentioned here at least compares to, if not surpasses, the full-length albums on my list. I honestly really like this release format, it lets bands pump out content more frequently and evolve quicker in between releases. Now, I still love full lengths, I feel like that really gets you the full experience of a band, but these were very, very good. TDWP, Knocked Loose, and LMTF especially, they were only about 5 or 6 songs, but each song had more than enough content to leave me content. Of course, it would have been nice to get more from Lorna Shore, but we should be getting their full length soon.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here are my favorite releases from 2021:
Top 10 Albums
Every Time I Die – I’ll be honest, I knew this album would be at the top of this list back in 2019. But I didn’t know just how far at the top of this list would be. When albums are hyped up this much, you’ve always got to be worried about whether it’s going to be able to live up to the hype, but once again, ETID have managed to surpass it. I don’t know how they’re still just getting better and better 20 years on but man, am I glad they are.
Silent Planet – This is another album that I already knew would be fighting for the top of this list. Now, I’m not quite sure if it had quite the impact their last album did, and it doesn’t really differentiate itself from that sound too much, but they have gone further and further towards absolutely perfecting what they do. The vocals sound so much more mature and comfortable, the band is heavier than ever, and the songwriting is untouchable. This is a big step forward for an already incredible band.
Erra – Back at the beginning of the year I thought this was a shoe in for album of the year and honestly, I wasn’t too far off. This is exactly what progressive metalcore should be. It’s got heavy breakdowns, technical riffs, huge melodies, and an absolutely sublime mix of clean and harsh vocals. I’ve been a big fan of these guys for a while and their last album fell a little flat but honestly this one is just about perfect.
Born of Osiris – I feel like I spent the entire summer listening to this album. Now, BOO have always been an incredible band but something about this new album just feels like an even bigger step forward. In fact, I don’t think there’s ever been a BOO album that’s stuck with me as much as this one did so quickly. Also, the sax over the djent riffs was an absolutely epic choice, and it made this album even better.
Landmvrks – I 100% did not give this album enough credit when it first came out. In fact, including it here almost felt necessary just so I could go back and right those wrongs and just point out exactly how fucking good this album is. It’s incredibly diverse, with pop punk, metalcore, djent, even some French hip-hop elements in there, and it all comes together so well. It’s just a hugely impressive listen start to finish.
Fallfiftyfeet – This is my favorite new band that I found this year. Really incredible, emotional, complex mathcore from West Virginia. Every year I find that new upcoming band that I absolutely fall in love with, Greyhaven, Thornhill, Loathe, and now Fallfiftyfeet, and I’m absolutely in love with this album.
Movements – I honestly almost forgot about this album but I visited it again after their tour announcement with Knocked Loose and I’m so glad I went back to it. I don’t want to call it just emo/pop punk but think of it as the type of band that plays that but can also tour with Knocked Loose. It’s incredibly creative, heartfelt, and well written. Absolutely incredible album.
Zao – Zao are another band that’s been around forever and put out tons of albums but this new one really is something special. Incredibly heavy, but also slow, grinding, and sludgy, it’s a hell of an experience and adds a whole lot of diversity to what you would normally expect from a metalcore band. Not quite as fast paced, but every bit as heavy.
Mogwai – Mogwai is one of those bands that’s monumental enough in their own right that they deserve a spot on this list simply because they released an album, but it also helps that the album is remarkably good, as well. They aren’t rewriting the rulebook nearly three decades on, but they’re continuing to refine the sound that so many have tried to emulate over that time.
Mental Cruelty – This has been a huge year for blackened deathcore, and this is a perfect example of exactly how it should be done. This is a release that went under a lot of people’s radars and that’s a real shame. Obviously people couldn’t stop talking about Lorna Shore this year, but Mental Cruelty are one of those bands that really helped the genre progress by leaps and bounds whether the masses heard it or not.
Top 5 Eps
The Devil Wears Prada – This EP was absolutely incredible. This somehow feels like the culmination of everything The Devil Wears Prada has done over the past 15 years or so, and as a result, it might just be the best thing they’ve ever done. Not only is it a return to form – not that I thought they ever lost it, but their latest stuff was a departure from this heavier sound – but it’s also a massive step forward. I can’t wait to see what they have in store next.
Lorna Shore – How could I not include this one? This past year, Lorna Shore somehow managed to break into the semi-mainstream consciousness with a 3-song deathcore EP. I’m still not quite sure how they pulled this off, but that feat is almost as impressive as the EP itself. My only complaint is that it isn’t longer, but they have now finished their first full length with Will Ramos, so I’m sure we’ll be getting more from them very soon.
Knocked Loose – This is a prime example of some of the EPs being even stronger than the full lengths that came out this year. If I had to rank this with everything else, it would probably still be in the top three. I know these guys have been on a roll for years now, but this EP felt really special. It was heavier, more cohesive, and complete than anything else they’ve done before, and it makes me even more excited to see what else is to come for Knocked Loose.
Like Moths to Flames – I was not expecting this to be this good, at all. Like Moths to Flames have been around forever and they were pretty cool a decade ago, and their last few albums were pretty good too but nothing that really stood out in a huge way. Definitely not like this EP does. This EP is just really, really well done melodic metalcore, and it’s just done with a level of mastery that’s more than earned them a spot on this list.
SeeYouSpaceCowboy/If I Die First – This split is probably one of the most forward-thinking pieces of music I’ve heard this year. Now, of course, both of these bands basically sound like everything I listened to back in 2004, but they’re doing it in a brand new way that’s, frankly, probably better than everyone that did it first. They also get bonus points for the collab track and bringing back the split EP in the first place.
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New Music Report – December 3, 2021
This is it, folks, my last post of 2021. I know I haven’t really been the best at keeping up to date on these, especially from the fall til now, but it’s been a pleasure to share all this music with you all, and I hope you’ve found something you enjoyed out of it. I’ll be taking a break for the rest of the year, save for my album of the year list, and I’ll be kinda taking stock to see if/how I want to do this going forward. I may do things a little bit differently, I may just do a playlist, or maybe I’ll motivate myself to pick this up full time again, who knows. Any feedback is certainly welcome, though. As always, thank you all for listening to me talk about a bunch of really obscure, hard to listen to bands, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great rest of your year, and enjoy this playlist as long as you like.
Of Mice & Men EP – I’m not gonna lie, I don’t really listen to these guys much anymore, but I was kind of intrigued by this release. They did this kind of like how The Acacia Strain released their album last year, bit by bit, by three EPs released over the course of the year, which are supposed to be combined into, basically, a full length. They were all a bit different thematically, and this one is by far the heaviest of the trio. I wasn’t really too into the previous two, but this one is actually pretty good. This is probably the best OM&M have sounded since Austin Carlisle left. Honestly, I’m still not really in love with it, but it’s pretty solid and well worth checking out.
Singles/Albums – Devin Townsend (LP, Progressive Metal), Cult of Luna (Post-Metal), Fit For An Autopsy (Deathcore), Underoath (Metalcore), Arch Enemy (Metal), Crowbar (Sludge), The Browning (Electronicore), The Bronx (Punk), Eskimo Callboy (Electronicore), Zeal & Ardor (Avant Garde Metal), Comeback Kid (Feat. Joe Duplantier from Gojira) (Hardcore/Metalcore), Sylosis (Progressive Metal), Venom Prison (Death Metal)
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New Music Report – November 26, 2021
Now this is it, this is another album that I’ve been waiting for basically all year, and officially marks the end of my list of albums that were truly anticipated by myself. I’m tracking a few more, but this is the last big one. It’s been a hell of a year, but it sure is going out on a high note.
Imminence – This is a Swedish post-hardcore/metalcore band that’s honestly been pushing the genre further than just about anyone else these days, but since they’re from Sweden, not nearly enough people are noticing it. I prefer to look at them as a very heavy post-hardcore band, but I suppose they can be viewed from the other direction too. They have some really creative and heavy breakdowns, but the clean vocals and violin parts are definitely more on the post-hardcore side of the fence. What they really do, however, is blur that line brilliantly. It’s basically like what would happen if Architects went post-hardcore with their new album, rather than more mainstream alt-metal (not that there’s anything wrong with that). And for that, I love them, it’s nice to see that sound carry on in the form of an inspiration and a progression rather than just another blegh-core cookie cutter copy of All Our Gods. But no matter how you look at this band’s sound, they’re absolutely nailing it. The composition is brilliant, the vocals are amazing, diverse, and strong, the breakdowns are, as I said, display Architects levels of mastery, and the violin is honestly just the icing on the cake that really makes this band perfect.
Singles/Albums – Ten56 (LP, Nu-Metalcore), Resolve (Metalcore), Of Mice & Men (Metalcore), The Last Ten Seconds of Life (Metalcore), Sleep Token (Instrumental) (Metal), The Wonder Years (Emo/Pop Punk), Sion (Metalcore), Snapcase (Live EP, Hardcore)
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New Music Report – November 19, 2021
The year is winding to a close and we’ve only got a few more albums that are really big on the horizon, but we’re not done yet. It’s hard to put a cap on any year when there’s still a Converge album coming out. These albums this week are some of the perfect ways to start wrapping up this year, both of off the rails side project and a true return to form, summarizing a lot of what we’ve been going through, both on a personal level, and musically this past year. Just so happens they’re both pretty damn good too, which is also very on brand.
Blood Moon (Converge/Chelsea Wolfe/Steven Broadsky) – I’ve honestly been waiting on this album for five years now. Back at Roadburn 2016, Converge played the first Blood Moon set with Chelsea Wolfe and her guitarist and Steven Brodsky from Cave-In. It was very different from what we usually expect from Converge, but kind of exactly what you’d expect if you’re familiar with the intersection of all of these artists. It’s a lot more atmospheric, sludgey, and slow-burn heavy than you’d traditionally expect from a Converge album, but you honestly shouldn’t think of this as a Converge album. It’s so much more than that, and the final product that you get is really perfect. If you do look at it form a Converge-centric perspective though, it’s really not that far out of line. If you listen to all their albums over the past 15 years or so, you can hear them slowly leaning more towards post-metal and sludge elements in their songwriting, and bringing in guest spots from bands like Neurosis, which is absolutely on brand with this sound. And what you get here is really the extreme of that, and the final product is frankly incredible. If you understand just how big this collaboration is, then you’re surely going to love this album.
Volumes – This album very firmly marks the return of Volumes. Technically, they’ve always been, but man this band has been through some shit. They kicked out the original vocalist and they made the other vocalist the lead vocalist and he also started rapping? Then in 2020, he was kicked out, along with his brother, the lead guitarist, who passed away a week later and they brought back the original vocalist. I honestly don’t know how they made it through all of this, but they pulled it together and put together a truly remarkable album. They deserve all the credit in the world for still carrying on, letting alone being able to put together such a well done piece of music right on the other side of all of this. This album honestly narrowly misses out on my top 10 list, but it’s just not quite there. However, it does feel like a fresh start for Volumes. It feels genuine, it feels cathartic, and it feels like something that was very important to these guys on a personal level. This is a really great album, and it’s really great to see these guys continuing on.
Singles/Albums – Maybeshewill (LP, Post-Rock), Obscura (LP, Metal), Mayday Parade (LP, Alt Rock), Silverstein (Post-Hardcore), Wolves at the Gate (Post-Hardcore), Animals as Leaders (Progressive Metal), Teeth (Metalcore/Hardcore), Khemmis (Doom)
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New Music Report – November 12, 2021
Man, the big hits just keep on coming. Honestly, it’s been really hard to keep up with these lately, I’ve been so busy so I’m sorry for being late, but I’m glad I’m able to catch up and share this music with you guys cause man, it’s all been just so good. We’ve been really lucky with great music this year, and I’m excited to see what the last few weeks of 2021 have to offer. This week has been another big one for me though, so enjoy.
Silent Planet – Silent Planet has been one of the bands that I’ve been trying to hype up for the past 5 years. When I heard Everything Was Sound, I knew this band was incredibly special. Over the past few years, it almost feels like the metalcore scene has been flooded with really, genuinely good bands, but there are a few that have stood above the rest. And then there’s Silent Planet. Not only are they just very good at making metalcore, they’re out there pushing the limits of the genre with incredibly intricate, syncopated drumming, deep, thoughtful, progressive lyrics, one of the best vocalists in the game, and honestly just a group of some of the nicest and most sincere people in metal. From there, I watched them grow and give back to the community, writing songs about indigenous people, homeless LGBT youth, those so suffer from PTSD, and then turning around and using those songs and subsequent merch to hold a fundraiser for those affected. I just can’t say enough nice things about this band, and it’s a damn good thing they have the talent to back it up. This album is their best yet, I know I had high hopes for it – the singles were incredible – but Silent Planet always tell a story better throughout an entire album, and this one is no different. Not only that, but they all sound much more dialed in. Garrett’s screams are even better, Thomas’ clean vocals seem to have found their range and sound much more comfortable. It’s all just perfect, honestly. I know I’ve got a few weeks left, but spoiler alert, I can’t think of anything that can really compete with Silent Planet and ETID for album of the year.
Singles/Albums – Memorist (EP, Djent), The Halo Effect (Ex-In Flames, Death Metal), Northlane (Nu-Metalcore), Rolo Tomassi (Progressive Metalcore), Bailer (Hardcore), Coheed & Cambria (Progressive Rock), Four Year Strong (Easycore), August Burns Red (Metalcore Christmas), 200 Stab Wounds (LP, Death Metal), Code Orange (Hardcore), Idles (LP, Avant Garde Punk), Burial Waves (Post Rock)
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New Music Report – November 5, 2021
Music release season continues with some absolute heaters, some of the brightest bands in the game, both young and old, are cranking out some excellent new music this year. It feels like a giant build up that’s still carrying over from last year, but I’ll absolutely take it.
SeeYouSpaceCowboy – These guys are the hottest new band in the scene, bar none, and they’re just going to keep on their stratospheric rise in popularity and I’m pretty sure there isn’t a damn thing out there that can stop them. And the cool thing is, they aren’t REALLY doing anything new. In fact, it’s pretty old. A whole 15-20 years later, they’ve managed to re-invent the old school screamo/emocore (bet you haven’t heard that word in a while) sound into something that sounds incredibly fresh. As much as I love all those old bands that laid the foundation for this sound, hell, those bands were the soundtrack to my high school years, but SYSC might actually be the best ones to ever do it. They’ll never have that same nostalgia factor, but there’s still something about the sound in general that has this inherent nostalgia. It’s almost like I’ve heard this before, and yet it’s brand new. These guys are simultaneously stuck in the past and absolutely blazing a trail to the future and I’m loving being able to watch it. This new album is just another definitive step forward for what is sure to be an incredibly bright career.
Emma Ruth Rundle – Emma Ruth Rundle has been one of my favorite artists for a long time. For the longest time she got caught up in Chelsea Wolfe’s wave to success, which is sort of a generalization cause they really sound nothing alike. ERR has a distinctly dark and bleak sound that sits bare against the musical arrangement. Either with her band, or with her earlier solo work it all felt incredibly personal and direct. It was raw, dark, and absolutely beautiful. Though her last album delved a bit more into bringing in support from her backing band, making it feel a bit more complete yet more impersonal, which is interesting because her last album was some of her best work and the instrumentation provided a lot of strength to the arrangement. This new album, however, strips things down with dark, sparse, yet incredibly powerful instrumentation. Her vocals and lyrics have always been such a centerpiece, allowing this album to meander along that theme accentuated by finely populated melodies and plucking piano adds more depth and intensity to her already incredibly intense work. This somehow feels even more personal and it’s just gorgeous, I love it.
Singles/Albums – Greyhaven (Southern Metalcore), Portrayal of Guilt (LP, Hardcore), Like Moths to Flames (LP, Post-Hardcore/Metalcore), Slipknot (Metal), Senses Fail (Post-Hardcore), Blood Moon (Converge & Chelsea Wolfe, Sludge/Metal/Post-Metal), Hammock (LP, Ambient)
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New Music Report – October 29, 2021
I’m not gonna lie, I’m still riding the high from Radical, but it’s really difficult to ignore the caliber of music coming out right now. I mean, new Mastodon? That’s not exactly something to sleep on. I always love this time of year cause it’s just chock full of new releases, and man are there some good ones this year.
Mastodon – The other day, I was talking about the lengthy Mastodon discography with a friend of mine, and he asked me what their best album was, and of course, the answer was Leviathan and there was zero debate. It’s been more than 17 years since that album, so expecting them to put out carbon copies of that masterpiece is a bit of a reach, but this newest album certainly came as a surprise either way. It’s still aligning with their more mainstream sound from their past few albums, which I expected, but it’s a bit slower, a bit more ballady, a bit more sludgey in place, it’s just overall a very different experience, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. And one that I think pretty much everyone else can enjoy too as long as they aren’t holding it to their previous high-water marks.
Archspire – This is fucking wild. There are a bunch of bands out there that have just ascended beyond my understanding as a musician and they’re playing on levels that I just can’t comprehend. Bands like Animals as Leaders, Frontierer, etc, but good god, I don’t know what it is these guys are doing but it’s insane. They’re playing on a level that’s just beyond comprehension, if you didn’t know better, you’d swear it was just concentrated noise. It’s so fast, it’s so chaotic, but with a bit of understanding it’s easy to see that it all feels incredibly deliberate, they know exactly where each note should fall, and they nail it every single time. I just don’t know how when there are so many notes happening at once. It’s just absolutely insane technical death metal and just the biggest flex a musician can make. It’s nearly exhausting to listen to but boy, is it worth it.
Singles/Albums – Bodysnatcher (Deathcore), Whitechapel (LP, Metalcore), Ghost Bath (LP, Black Metal), Marissa Nadler (LP, Dark Folk), Minus the Bear (Live Farewell Album, Indie), Comeback Kid (Hardcore), Being as an Ocean (Post-Hardcore), Underoath/Ghostmane (Metalcore), Impending Doom (EP, Deathcore), Monolord (LP, Doom Metal), Fit For an Autopsy (Deathcore), Volumes (Djent)
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