New Music Report – October 22, 2021

Posted by admin on Nov 13, 2021 in Featured, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Ok, so I’m gonna be honest here, there’s only one album I really want to talk about this week. There have been lots of great albums and singles coming out this week; Sentinels put out an incredibly technical metalcore album, Silent Planet singles are always awesome, SeeYouSpaceCowboy are still one of the best new-ish names in the game, and Phaeleh’s music is always breathtaking. But holy fuck this ETID album.

Every Time I Die – I don’t know, man, what do I even say here? ETID is one of the few bands I’ll actual fanboy over, and I’ve been waiting for this album for like 2 years thanks to Covid. Of course I’m gonna love it. But man, this is fucking sick. This is so good. First off, Goose is the best drummer they’ve ever had, and that’s a very high bar. Everyone talks about how ETID is one of those bands that manages to raise the bar with every release, and this is just another example of that upward trend. Radical feels like the most complete ETID album, bringing elements from their back catalog and all their past sounds into this lengthy masterpiece. It features some of their chunkiest, heaviest riffs, clean vocals from Keith that sound like the ETID version of a Damned Things song, some of the most quotable lyrics Keith has ever written, and their most touching song ever with Andy from Manchester Orchestra on guest vocals. I mean, honestly, it’s pretty much a perfect album. I’m definitely biased about this, I adore this band, but this album is a perfect example of why.

Singles/Albums – Sentinels (LP, Metalcore), Thecityisours (LP, Post-Hardcore), Phaeleh (LP, Downtempo/Ambient), Bullet for my Valentine (LP, Metalcore), Waking the Cadaver (LP, Deathcore), Cradle of Filth (LP, Metal), Circa Survive (EP, Post-Hardcore), Silent Planet (Metalcore), No Bragging Rights (Hardcore), Obscura (Progressive Metal), Void of Vision (Nu-Metalcore), SeeYouSpaceCowboy (Screamo), Arch Enemy (Metal), Kublai Khan (Metalcore), The Word Alive (Metalcore)

New Music Report – October 15, 2021

Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

Now we’re getting into the thick of new release season and man, do we have some heaters this week. I’ve mostly been looking ahead to next week when the new Every Time I Die album comes out, but man, I’ve been so caught up on some of the releases from this week, I’m having no problem waiting another week for that album. Knocked Loose especially, quite literally came out of nowhere and killed it this week. This has been a really exciting year for music, and even this late in the year it still feels like we’re just getting started.

Knocked Loose EP – Haha holy shit this thing bangs so hard. A couple weeks ago, Knocked Loose started hinting at something, I sort of just assumed it was a new single, which would have been fantastic, but man, they really came out swinging. They dropped an EP with a full video production to go along with it. And it sure is a monster. This is definitely one of the heaviest things I’ve heard all year, but it also marks a new high point for Knocked Loose. Before this, they were just a hard-hitting hardcore band with a unique vocalist, this album introduces a whole new degree of song writing complexity that we haven’t really seen from the band before. It almost reminds me a bit of pre-Jane Doe Converge with better production quality. I’ve been feeling for a while that this year’s best releases have all been EPs, and man, this gave some serious weight to that argument. I’ve legit had this on repeat since they dropped the video production, and every second has still hit super hard. Actually, not gonna lie, I kinda hate the ASMR whisper outro part, but that’s a personal thing, it’s flawless otherwise.

Vildjharta – First off, nobody ever though this album would actually exist, so that’s an accomplishment in itself. This Swedish progressive metal band have been promising a new album for about a decade now, and it just seemed like it was never actually going to happen, but here we are. And usually when an album has that much hype and takes that much time, it’s gonna flop. The old “Chinese Democracy” syndrome. But somehow this album managed to exceed expectations. It’s an incredible display of musicianship, song-writing ability, and a novel approach to what it truly means to be heavy. This is simultaneously a crushing, slow grind, and also a technical whirlwind. Honestly, I have no idea how this band manages to remember all their parts, or how they combine such disparate sounds into something so cohesive and mesmerizing. This band is honestly on a different tier than just about anybody else in the game and – likely because of their long absence – are criminally underrated. But if you want to hear what metal is really capable of, check this out.

Ice Nine Kills – Ok, I feel like I should talk about this one and I’m gonna be objective about it. So when I lived in Boston, these guys were not really anything more than a bigger local band that got some occasional Warped Tour runs and that really felt like the end of the road for them. But man, credit where credit is due, they’ve blown up and really polished their songwriting along the way. To be honest, this is what I like to call Hot Topic-core. If this were released in 2005, back when I had Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, this album would probably quite literally change my life. But here in 2021, a horror movie-themed metalcore album feels a bit cheesy. And make no mistake, it’s cheesy as fuck. But they’re doing it very, very well, and if they keep this up, they have a really solid upward trajectory ahead of them. I didn’t think they’d actually be able to follow up their last album – which was also a horror movie themed metalcore album – it felt like a one and done thing, but they sure proved me wrong. I won’t really be listening to this album very much, but I absolutely understand the appeal, and I know the exact audience for this sort of thing, and they’re going to love this.

Singles/Albums – Volumes (Post Hardcore), Angelmaker (Deathcore), Whitechapel (Deathcore), Betraying the Martyrs (Metalcore), Wolves at the Gate (Post-Hardcore), Emma Ruth Rundle (Dark Folk), Impending Doom (Deathcore), Left to Suffer feat. Will Ramos (Deathcore), Upon A Burning Body (Metalcore)

New Music Report – October 8, 2021

Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

This might just be a bit of a cop out, I know there are a bunch of good albums coming out this week that I’m not covering with a full review, but it’s honestly mostly cause I just don’t have enough of an opinion on them to say much. I’ve always loved Atmosphere, but I’ve had trouble getting in to modern Atmosphere and mostly just fondly remember the God Loves Ugly days when I discovered them. The World is a Beautiful Place is a well done, beautiful album but I don’t have enough to compare it to in my personal collection. And Kowloon Walled City is really cool, out there, sludgy post rock and I enjoyed it but I know it’s a bit out there. All of these are definitely worth your time, but apparently not worth my time to really write something out about them haha.

Trivium – Trivium are one of those bands that never really stopped working when the rest of the entertainment industry shut down. They took to Twitch and social media with live streams, video games, and just about every sort of content you could imagine. Which is pretty forward-thinking stuff from a metalcore band that has effectively been around forever. And man, they sure were cool in the early-00’s. They combined that New Wave of American Heavy Metal sound with typical early-00’s metalcore (along with bands like Shadows Fall, etc.) and made something genuinely special. There was awhile there where it really felt like it didn’t age very well, and maybe it didn’t, but be it a resurgence or purely nostalgia, the sound has come around again. This new album is meant to be a concept album that leaves the interpretation up to the listener, and I guess that’s a cool idea, but it almost feels unnecessary. It’s just a solid metalcore album that will give you exactly what you expect from Trivium, and it’ll be a good, enjoyable listen. I’m not in love with it, but it was very well done, so I’d say it’s worth checking out.

Singles/Albums – The World is a Beautiful Place and I’m No Longer Afraid to Die (LP, Post-Rock/Emo), Atmosphere (LP, Hip Hop), Kowloon Walled City (LP, Post Rock), Veil of Maya (Metalcore), The Last Ten Seconds of Life (Hardcore), Maybeshewill (Post-Rock), Bullet for my Valentine (Metalcore), Monuments (Metalcore), SeeYouSpaceCowboy (Screamo)

New Music Report – October 1, 2021

Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

We’re really getting into album release season now and things are starting to heat up. There are tons of INCREDIBLE albums coming out during the remainder of this year, and this week is a perfect example of the strength and diversity of these releases. There’s so much going on here from nonsense mathcore to ex-Attack Attack fever dream post-hardcore, and some new Converge and Devil Wears Prada thrown in for good measure, and I love it so much. So, check out everything if you can, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

Frontierer – I’ve said this a few times over the years, probably cause I listen to a lot of mathcore, but I’ll say it even strong for this one: This album is pure chaos. Oh my god, absolutely nothing makes sense here, it’s just absolute nonsense from start to finish and I love every second of it. Mathcore has lots of weird little subsets, where sometimes it seems very calculated, and sometimes it’s absolute destruction, and this sort of resides somewhere in the middle. Where everything on this album feels incredibly deliberate, but deliberately created from a mind that makes absolutely no sense. All while avoiding the trap of being chaos just for the sake of chaos, which isn’t always an easy thing to do with this sound. They manage to make this crazy mess of dissonance intelligent and captivating, while still being difficult to pick out a groove. It’s a hell of an experience, and I highly recommend it to any fans of mathcore, djent, just about any sort of nonsense that people are calling music.

Dying Wish – What an incredible surprise this album was. Dying Wish has been causing some stirs in the scene for a bit now, including a recent stint on the road with some all-time favorites of mine, Silent Planet. But as is often the case, until you really have a full sample size of what to expect from a band that you can really only get from a debut full length. It made me really cool off on my Spiritbox hype, and subsequently made me turn up the Dying Wish hype considerably. This album is nothing short of fantastic. It’s incredibly gritty, screamo-y metalcore, jumping on the current wave of screamo-reemergence and capitalization on nostalgic sounds and styles from the early-00s. And I’m kinda blown away by that whole movement cause most of the time that sort of thing feels too forced, but so many of these bands, Dying Wish included, are doing it so, so well. It’s familiar, but still their own sound, and executed on such a level that you rarely see from debut albums except from truly special bands.

Wage War – To put it simply, the last Wage War album was terrible. It was really just basic, boring, pseudo-radio-friendly metalcore. It lacked focus, substance, and really the passion or their previous album. So, I didn’t really have high hopes for this new album, I was really expecting it to be more of the same, just another album where they phoned it in so they could get some plays on Sirius XM. The singles leading up to this album gave me a bit more hope, but I still wasn’t expecting a ton. And I will say, the results are much better than I was expecting. In fact, it might just be their best album yet. Still not groundbreaking, it’s still mostly generic metalcore, but still pretty solid generic metalcore. And for what it’s worth, being generic isn’t really the worst thing in the world, not every band is going to set out to redefine the genre, some are just out there to make a specific, existing style of music, and make it as good as they can. And that’s exactly what Wage War did here, and I’m into it.

Singles/Albums – Full of Hell (LP, Deathgrind), The Devil Wears Prada (Metalcore), Converge/Chelsea Wolfe/Stephen Brodsky (Sludge/Metal/Post-Metal), Shadow of Intent (Deathcore), Bilmuri (EP, Post-Hardcore), Explosions in the Sky (LP, Post-Rock/Soundtrack), Archspire (Progressive Metal), Mastodon (Metal), Trivium (Metal)

New Music Report – September 24, 2021

Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

There has been a ton of hype around a lot of the releases coming out this week, and for good reason, really. None of them were huge up on my list, but I really was looking forward to them for their own reasons. It’s also nice that there’s a lot of diversity in the releases for this week, it should have a little bit for everybody.

Sleep Token – Sleep Token is very, very difficult to explain. They’re kinda metal but not super heavy, they have a very strong and talented vocalist and one of the most entertaining drummers I’ve literally ever heard, and have moments of real heavy music, but it’s more a heaviness through intensity than what you would traditionally expect. They also have the whole “masked band” gimmick with their own personas and story and so on, more like Ghost than Slipknot, but I’ll let that part slide. The album itself is, as the music would suggest, filled with a kind of slow burning intensity. Now, I like slow burning intensity, but this might be even a little bit slow for me. It’s a good album, don’t get me wrong, but definitely a bit out there, and something you have to be in the right mood for. But holy fuck, that drummer is a god damn monster. I’ll listen to this album on repeat for the drums alone.

Signs of the Swarm – For a while there, I wasn’t too hot on deathcore, it all kinda sounded the same and it was really difficult to do something new and innovative. Thankfully, that is no longer the case with excellent bands like Lorna Shore, Shadow of Intent, Mental Cruelty, etc, really pushing the boundaries of what you can do with deathcore, but it’s still easy to get lost in the deathcore scene. It’s so easy to just do the exact same thing as everybody else, and do it well enough to fit in but not stand out, but Signs of the Swarm are doing a damn good job at making sure they aren’t one of those bands. I didn’t care TOO much about this album on the build up to its release since it was, as noted, just yet another deathcore album, but upon first listen it was very clear that I did not give these guys enough credit. This is a hell of an album. It’s not going to reinvent the genre, and it’s not going to rise to the top far enough for me to mention them in the same breath as the bands listed above, but it certainly stands out enough on its own to warrant a listen.

Singles/Albums – Underoath (Metalcore), SeeYouSpaceCowboy (Screamo), Whitechapel (Metalcore), Fit for an Autopsy (Deathcore), 156/Silence (Metalcore), Attack Attack (Crabcore), We Butter the Bread with Butter (Weird German Electronicore), Rivers of Nihil (LP, Death Metal)

New Music Report – September 17, 2021

Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

Man, this week is HUGE. I can’t even begin to have enough time to cover all of them, but I’m making sure I at least cover some of the big ones. And by big, I mean two of these albums are ones I’ve been looking forward to for over a year now, and I’m fairly certain I’m not the only one. Spiritbox and Eidola have both been teasing these forever and I’m SO stoked to finally get to sit down and listen to them. There are tons of honorable mentions in the album list like the new Thrice and Employed to Serve, and some HUGE new singles from Silent Planet and ETID, so definitely take the time to check those out too.

Eidola – I absolutely adore this band. I’ve been saying for years that these guys are the best thing to come out of the swancore group by such a large margin, it isn’t even close. And this new album is just more evidence as to why. They avoid being a cookie-cutter of other progressive post-hardcore bands out there and maintain their own identity while still falling very firmly within familiar territory. Andrew Wells, singer, songwriter, and touring guitarist for Dance Gavin Dance is the mastermind behind this project and now, with the addition of guitar genius Sergio Medina, they’ve managed to step up their game once again. I’m not sure I’m in love with this album quite as much as their last one, but that sense of familiarity can’t be replicated immediately. What I do know, is this album is good enough to have the lasting power in my song rotation to know that one day it will be just as important to me, and that’s not an easy feat these days.

Spiritbox – This was easily one of the most hyped metal releases coming out this year and I’ll have to admit, I had some preconceived notions about it. About this time last year, I had “Holy Roller” on repeat and I thought this band would be huge, but as more and more singles rolled out I started to cool on them a bit. I don’t know why, it was still good, it just didn’t quite have the same impact. I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed by this album. But it turns out I was just looking at it the wrong way. Spiritbox are incredibly talented musicians and songwriters, and they’ve basically just fast-tracked their career to late-stage-Architects style metal. It’s a lot more accessible and “radio-friendly” than most metal, but still very technical and hits very hard. I think this will be an incredibly successful project for them and I certainly hope so because they deserve it. Not everything has to be crushingly heavy or djenty to be good, this album is exactly what it needs to be.

Mono – This is one of my sleeper hits of the year. I know a lot of you read this for my metal and hardcore recommendations and most of you aren’t as familiar with the post-rock bands that I follow but trust me when I say that this is one of the absolute best of the best. Mono, from Japan, have been some of the most emotional, powerful, and innovative post-rock bands out there for more than a decade now, so a new album from them is absolutely something to celebrate. They claimed that this album would have more electronic influences than other albums, which I guess I kind of see? I think it’s more in the atmospherics but regardless, it adds a ton of depth a complexity to an already strong album. This is one of those bands that you already know is going to put out something remarkable, but this album is just next level, even for them.

Singles/Albums – Silent Planet (Metalcore), Every Time I Die (Metalcore), Employed to Serve (Hardcore/Metalcore), Thrice (LP, Alt Rock), The Plot in You (LP, Post-Hardcore), Carcass (LP, Metal), Vulvodynia (LP, Slam-Death), Attack Attack (Crabcore), Sleep Token (Metalcore-ish), Comeback Kid (Hardcore/Metalcore), Wage War (Metalcore), Dying Wish (Metalcore)

New Music Report – September 10, 2021

Posted by admin on Sep 15, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

Man, I’m way behind on these things at this point haha. Thankfully, this past week was a slow one so it gave me a chance to get everything out of the way. I want to get this all done cause this coming Friday, the 17^th, is absolutely HUGE. Since I packaged all three of the past weeks together though, there’s still tons of new music for everyone to check out. There have been a lot of quality releases over the past few weeks, so please take the time to work your way back a bit and check these out.

Trophy Scars – While this band may not be unfamiliar to those of you that have been around the post-hardcore scene forever, seeing it pop up in this context certainly will be. These guys have been around the block for quite some time in a number of different iterations, from their New Jersey post-hardcore beginnings, to the experimental blues rock they play today. I know that’s quite the leap, even to make over the course of 20 years and 5+ albums, but holy shit, did they execute it perfectly. Admittedly though, it’s hard to figure this band out, they’ve made a career out of staying independent or on small labels to afford them the flexibility to do whatever weird shit they want to, and it’s worked out really well for them, even if it isn’t always accessible to the listener. As a result, however, not nearly enough people out there are going to hear this album. But if you’re one of the lucky few that finds it, you’re in for a brilliant, but extremely out there and challenging masterpiece. Give this one a shot, it may not be your thing, but it’s undeniably fantastic.

Singles/Albums – Emma Ruth Rundle (Dark Folk), Frontierer (Mathcore), Invent Animate (Metalcore), ten56 (Nu-Metalcore), Andrew WK (LP, Party Metal), Signs of the Swarm (Deathcore), The Plot in You (Post-Hardcore), Ice Nine Kills (Hot Topic core)

New Music Report – September 3, 2021

Posted by admin on Sep 15, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

Things were slightly slower this week, some good singles, a few good releases, but some quality heavy music. And when I say heavy, I mean HEAVY. The two bands I talk about this week are absolutely pounding, and they both killed it with these releases. Not to mention some very interesting singles that are hinting at some very promising releases coming a little later in the season.

Earth Groans – Earth Groans were one of my favorite underground finds of 2020, they put out a really incredible hardcore-leaning metalcore EP last year and I was absolutely blown away by the songwriting talent of these guys, and it turns out that’s exactly what they did again in 2021. This new release is a bit more structured than their last EP, while still leaning a bit on their mathcore influences that made their last EP so special. That isn’t to say they’ve taken the edge off themselves, it’s more like they’re maturing gracefully into something still heavy and chaotic, but a bit more coherent. This is still the same incredibly groovy yet aggressive hardcore that I feel for when I found these guys last year. These guys have an absolutely insane amount of potential and I’m so glad we’re consistently getting new music from them and getting to experience their growth in real time. I can’t wait for the next one, hopefully it’s a full length, but I’ll take whatever I can get.

Carnifex – These guys were basically proto-deathcore. Putting out deathcore records before it was ever really a thing and before anybody knew what to call it. So, in that sense, they’re definitely pioneers in the genre, but as with many pioneers, they were sort of eclipsed by the next generations of talent that innovated on the original idea and really cemented the genre as what we know it to be today. After they, they kinda hung around and just became a little gimmicky and cheesy, if I’m honest. I still respect these guys, it just didn’t do it for me. That is no longer the case. Do not get it twisted, there is nothing outdated or gimmicky about this new record. Sure, it may not be the most innovative thing out there, but it is very, very good at what it set out to be: really heavy, straightforward deathcore. And I’m kinda loving it. It’s set up a new precedent for the band and path forward into something fresh and exciting, and I’m here for it.

Singles/Albums – Bilmuri (Post-Hardcore), Whitechapel (Metalcore/Deathcore), Portrayal of Guilt (Blackened Hardcore), Zeal & Ardor (Avant Garde Metal), Animals as Leaders (Instrumental Djent), Eskimo Callboy (Electronicore), Imminence (Metalcore/Post-Hardcore), Archspire (Progressive Metalcore)

New Music Report – August 27, 2021

Posted by admin on Sep 15, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

We’re getting into the good part of the year now. I know new releases tend to come in waves, but late-summer all through fall is always a very busy time for new music and I have to say, I’m super stoked about some of the stuff on the horizon. Including a few of this week’s releases. Phinehas and Turnstile are both two bands absolutely at the top of their game and keeping the heavy music scene really interesting and fun. I’m not loving everything I talk about this week, but again, that’s all just personal opinion, it’s all certainly worth checking out.

Phinehas – There has been a lot of really good metalcore coming out over the past few years, and I have to say it’s easy to take it all for granted. The genre is pushing itself to new heights with bands raising the bar seemingly week by week. But on the other hand, I suppose it’s probably kind of easy to desensitized by all this good music. I know I’ve written off perfectly good albums because they were like 8/10 but the standard these days is at least a 9/10 or better. It’s kind of wild, actually. That said, Phinehas is at least a 9/10, good god, what a record. It’s got the technicality of the last Invent, Animate record, the vocal hooks of the last Polaris album, and the breakdowns of the last ABR album. But it still sounds like its own unique piece of music, which I think is the real challenge here. They did a phenomenal job standing out in what is, frankly, a very crowded room.

Turnstile – Turnstile is such a cool band. First off, they’re Baltimore locals, so they already get bonus points for that. But they’re also going through a similar arc that Knocked Loose went through a few years ago, where they’re championing this somewhat new hybrid sound of old school heavy genres that has absolutely no business gaining any sort of mainstream success on a larger scale, but here we are. Turnstile have managed to make (intentionally) poorly recorded, upbeat 90’s New York hardcore into something undeniably infectious and honestly just so much fun. The hype for them, while somewhat surprising, is 100% deserved. I know this was a fairly big week for releases, but now that some time has passed, the only album I still see continually mentioned as something people have on repeat is one, and I have to say, I completely understand. It’s not every day that hardcore can be this fun, but Turnstile absolutely nailed it.

Jinjer – Ok, this is gonna be a controversial one and some of you all aren’t gonna like this but that’s ok. I understand what Jinjer is trying to do and I’m glad they’re getting so much attention for it. They’re all incredibly talented musicians, and Tatiana an incredible voice. But man, these guys aren’t for me. It’s hard to explain, it all feels a little too much like a simulation of what metal is supposed to look and sound like; it feels a little generic and two-dimensional. It also feels a little bit dated, if this came out in like 2004 it would be insane, but now it just feels like we can do more with this sound. I don’t know, like I said, I know this isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but this one didn’t do it for me. I’m sure a lot of people will like this one, so as always, I encourage people to listen for themselves and form their own opinion, that’s why I’m still taking the time to write about it, but I’m not super into this one.

Singles/Albums – The Bronx (LP, Punk), Wage War (Metalcore), Rebreather & Frayle (Post-Metal/Doom), Shadow of Intent (Lamb of God cover, Deathcore), Memphis May Fire (Metalcore)

New Music Report – August 20, 2021

Posted by admin on Aug 26, 2021 in Featured | 0 comments

This has been another absolutely stacked week, holy shit. New albums aside, new singles from ETID, Silent Planet, Phinehas, Spiritbox, Volumes, and Rolo Tomassi is HUGE, like, how does that all even happen in the same week? And all at the same time as new BTBAM and WITTR. I’m not gonna lie, most of the summer was pretty slow for new music but man, these past few weeks have been absolutely insane. Hopefully this keeps up through the end of the year, but with all these new announcements for fall releases starting to roll out, it seems like that’s going to be the case.

Between the Buried and Me – This album is fucking insane. Like, I know as a musician of over two decades I could literally never aspire to be good enough to play in BTBAM, that’s fine, I’ve made friends with that fact, but just the memory these guys must have to remember these huge, sprawling, complex songs is absolutely beyond me. I can’t remember the last time I felt dumber listening to an album. But man, was it worth it. For what it’s worth, I’ve kinda fallen off BTBAM in the past few years, they’re an incredible band, of course, but they got a little too proggy for me. I was hopefully that Colors 2 – billed as the spiritual successor to their absolute ripper of an album, Colors – would bring back some of their old metal flair, and boy, did it. I honestly can’t say enough good things about this album. It’s got just incredible musicianship, song writing, diversity, complexity… I could go on. This is a full-on masterclass not only in progressive metal, but in what it means to be a musician playing at the absolute top of your game. Listen to this album, please.

Wolves in the Throne Room – This is a completely different side of the coin. Not to say WITTR aren’t talented musicians, but this is all about the atmosphere and the feel of the song. And they manage to create some of the bleakest, darkest soundscapes I’ve heard in ages, and yet they do so beautifully. These guys have been setting the scene for post-black metal for years now. People have been crediting Deafheaven for setting the genre on fire, but WITTR have really helped propel it forward with wonderfully crafted and deeply thoughtful albums. This is one of those albums that really takes a while to digest, when you listen to it, it’s just so easy to get lost in it, only to surface about 45 minutes later with the album starting over again. You felt the whole thing, but it was hard to really catch all the details. As such, I’m still digesting this one. But on first impression, I’m not entirely sure it’s quite as good as their last album though very close. But that was a masterpiece, so it’s almost an unfair benchmark. I’m still incredibly fond of this album and look forward to spending a lot of time with it.

Singles/Albums – Every Time I Die (GOAT Metalcore), Silent Planet (Also GOAT Metalcore), Rolo Tomassi (Progressive Metalcore), Deafheaven (LP, Shoegaze), The Plot in You (Post-Hardcore), Volumes (Djent), Everyone Dies in Utah (Metalcore), Spiritbox (Metalcore), Turnstile (Hardcore), Vildhjarta (Progressive Metal), Phinehas (Metalcore), Senses Fail (feat. Spencer from Ice Nine Kills, Post-Hardcore), Obscura (Death Metal)