Okay, so there's been way more music dropping on my desk than expected lately and i couldn't be happier...except i don't have the time of day to actually sit down and listen to it fully and write my thoughts on it...so this time i'm going to get lazy and avoid rambling too much by just posting twitter-sized (or at least greatly cut back in length) reviews of new (or newish) albums that have dropped or will drop this year that you should (or shouldn't) listen to, for your enjoyment (not that anyone actually reads this crap anyways).
#1. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!
Incredibly funky, soulful, jazzy and genuine...but also rather playful in nature. You can tell these guys listened to alot of james brown...very fun album.
Rating: I give it a 8/10 because nobody seems to be able to put out this type of music anymore...and if they do it's not near this type of quality...very old school and happy music.
#2. Behemoth - Evangelion
Incredibly heavy, very violent, drumming is incredibly tight. Musicianship on this is as good as death metal gets. This album most definitely lives up to the hype.
Rating: I'm giving it a 9/10 because it delivers on every front...it's not too long or too short..it ends when you are ready for it to...and it absolutely destroys every cell in your brain...which is rare for a band on metal blade these day
#3. ChthoniC - Mirror Of Retribution
Absolutely gorgeous, symphonic black metal with some incredidbly creative riffs and musicianship. The production is great, the riffs are incredible.
Rating: This one gets a 9/10 as well...it delivers the speed and fury that you expect from black metal, as well as lots of beauty and incredible use of foreign instruments to the black metal world. Taiwanese politics never sounded this awesome!
#4. Drudkh - Microcosmos
Now see, this is how atmospheric black metal should sound. Lots of good atmosphere, lots of heavy black metal pummeling. Plus, it sounds like it was recorded in a cabin in the woods which is perfect!
Rating: This album is getting a 8/10 because it's very heavy and dirty but has lots of incredible atmsospher and it doesnt get boring...yes...that's right...an album where the drums sound like they were recorded in a soup kitchen and the singer sounds like he is a regular at said soup kitchen doesnt get boring! God bless atmospheric black metal!
#5. Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With The Stars
More sick atmospheric black metal! The drums are fast and heavy, the vocals are abrasive and grinding, the guitars are grinding and churning, but somehow also create an atmosphere built for wielding an axe in public...sans pants of course.
Rating: This album also gets an 8/1o for being really really awesome! Super heavy, with great drum tone...the guitars paint a wonderful atmosphere that mixes a candlelit dinner under the northern lights and guzzling mead and fighting bravely in the field of battle...seriously one guitar is creating a beautiful but unstable atmospher while the other guitarist creates a grinding unsteady buzz that can only mean blood has been shed. Again i say, god bless atmospheric black metal!
#6. Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs
I read about this band in a magazine that made them sound awesome so i had to check them out...and sure i've listened to like 6 other black metal bands today...but this is again...just a little different from the others! The grinding black metal riffs are very very dirty with the signature rapid fire pounding on anything in sight in a cabin in the woods drum style couple with shredding grinding guitars that conjure imagery of a great war where the action is brutal and the atmosphere is unsteady. Think of this band as...Isis...if they listened to nothing but Darkthrone for a year.
Rating: Another black metal album...another 8/10 i think i'm just a sucker for fast lo-fi metal with a bit of atmosphere and alot of buzzing noise and no discernable rhythm...also this album has a bit of melody which gives it a sonic youth vibe at times which is...just creepy. Again i say...god bless atmospheric black metal!
#7. Pissed Jeans - King Of Jeans
So this isn't black metal...but it's equally as noisy and socially awkward. The vocals are very abrasive and the lyrics are equally as odd. Very stoner metal at times...mostly just really weird noise rock with a very heavy melvins type undertone. Also, lots of jesus lizard thrown in for good measure...with just enough of their own unique touch to make this album A: really awesome B: not considered really awesome until you listen to it enough times to finally understand that it has no real genre in mind...just noise and awkward emotions...
Rating: This album takes a long time to grow...it still hasn't fully sunk in with me yet...but i appreciate what their going for so this one gets a 8.5/10 just for trying so hard to be weird.
#8. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
So, honestly when i heard that the singer of the black keys had a side project i kind of wondered what the point was because i assumed it was just be black keys b-sides...however, this album does have it's own unique little touch. I mean, sure...the guy has alot of songs that sound like black keys songs...but the guitar riffs are so bad ass and awesome and bluesy and just...really really really awesome that it doesnt matter. Blues is one thing this album has alot of...another element this album is that dan auerbach is a really creative guitarist that can play the same time of music as his main project and still keep it hid from the black keys sound (seewhatididthere?) Basically this album should have just been a new black keys album...HOWEVER! It is full of some really really awesome songs and lots of blues/country riffs along with alot of dirty distorted guitar riffs and even a few random beats that give this album no particular genre association except that of the "awesome" genre.
Rating: I'll give this album an 8.5/10...mostly because he doesnt have to try hard to stay away from the black keys sound...but in doing so he stays away from no particular sound at all because this album has elements of hip hop, funk, blues, country, folk, and of course rockn'effinroll!
#9: Funeral Mist - Maranatha
So this album intruiged me because it's one of very few albums decibel magazine gave a perfect 10 so i HAD to listen to it. Upon further review i'd like to say this album is heavy as balls! Super super super fast grinding nasty dirty filthy black metal...simply put. Really really heavy black metal with a very black sabbath influence at times. This album is more than just grinding black metal though...some very strange bluesy type riffs at times and then some really big heavy sabbathy type riffs combined with some maniacal almost german sounding rambling vocals. This album is very heavy...and very disturbing/unsettling. Lots of grind and black metal sounds throughout.
Rating: So i can see how decibel gave this album a 10...i'm going to give it a 7/10 because it's a little too abrasive and maniacal and ridiculous even by my standards...i mean if you like crazy retarded reckless black metal that will make you commit a hate-crime this is the album for you...for some reason i can't really grasp my head around it...mostly because the vocals are just too much...the guy rambles in a very rammsteinian german accent. This is recommended for fans of Mayhem for sure.
#10. Hands - Creator
So finally, facedown has found a christian band to rip off isis...but in traditional facedown tradition it's still full of generic hardcore drivel. Really this album isn't that bad...but i just don't understand why there is a need to mix war of ages and isis. Beautiful awesome atmospheric heavy riffs combined with hardcore posturing and generic breakdowns just ruin whatever likeability i held out for this band. Attn: Facedown Records...just because post-rock/metal have pretty big fanbases doesnt mean you have to push that style on your listeners by injecting stupid hardcore screaming and breakdowns into it.
Rating: I'll give this a 5/10 because this is a lame attempt at mixing metalcore and post-metal which is a pretty stupid move and...honestly it could be done pretty well...but these guys just failed massively. I'll say this again...it's not a good idea to try and mix War Of Ages with Isis.
#11. Robin Trower - What Lies Beneath
Okay, so let it be known that my dad once referred to this guy as "the white jimi hendrix" and i agree...for the most part...Bridge of Sighs is a wonderful album. Now, with that being said...he probably should have tried harder to go with the whole "white jimi hendrix thing" because the songs on this album are just...strange..it has a very weird coffee shop vibe and some weird hip hoppy type drum beats. Basically, Robin Trower has released an album with sub-par studio musicians trying to add a little bit of background noise to his guitar playing which paints some pretty cool images actually...very rarely can you actually picture a setting and scenery by just hearing a guitar riff. This album is like a fake-blues album. I mean it's got alot of cool blues licks but it just doesnt have that awesome blues vibe to it...honestly this album has alot of potential but it just kind of gets boring. The guy is a great guitarist...why doesnt he just SHRED!!!?!?!?!
Rating: I give this 6.5/10 because some of the songs are just pointless and boring...but the guitar work is awesome...i'm sure i'd really like this album if i listened to it more...but it's just got a very weird laid back nature to the beats that make it kind of hard to sit through the entire time.
#12. Yob - The Great Cessation
I'm so glad these guys are back after a long and dramatic hiatus...their last album slayed and then they broke up and put out an album as "Middian" which got them all kinds of sued by a guy that didn't even really make music or have a record contract which is hilarious to me. You can tell these guys were chomping at the bit to make some nasty heavy music and that's exactly what they've done. This band is one that you just kind of know what to expect and they live up to the expectations completely...but the thing is...sometimes when you've heard the same kind of doom riffs played over and over and over by every band with access to beer and a detuned guitar...it just kind of gets old after awhile...granted these guys have alot of innovative things going on on this album...actually they really don't it's just really really heavy riffs played really slowly with alot of feedback and noise in the background and some angry screaming
Rating: I'll give it a 7/10 because it's not bad...though it's not original and songs take forever to actually move away from the same riff over and over...it's good for it's genre.
#13. Poison The Well - The Tropic Rot
For being a pissed off florida hardcore/post-hardcore/metalcore/whatevercore band these guys sure are catchy...very very angry and catchy. I didn't really get into these guys until you come before you came out...so naturally hearing an album that's like a much more punk rock and angry version of it makes me very happy. This album is a typical poison the well album but it's not boring and it's very catchy and contains some really really good riffage and whatnot.
Rating: This album is definitely 8/10 because it's easy to listen to multiple times and not get bored or want to change it...it's very punk rock in nature but sounds alot like You Come Before You which to me...is better than hearkening back to their old days which was...in my opinion...clumsy at best. (Y DEW YUR EYEZ PURRALYZE MEH?!?!?!?"
#14. Blitzen Trapper - Back River Killer
This album caught me WAY off guard...i expected it to be boring generic indie (YOU HEAR THAT FLEET FOXES!?) But i was wrong. This album has a very Bob Dylanesque indie/folk/country vibe to it...but with just enough rock n' roll influence to keep my attention. It also contains some incredible storytelling within the songs and their singer's voice is incredible. Also this album contains some very cool riffs...alot of indie folky type songs...but even the generic folk/indie parts are pretty cool. This album can be pretty addictive if you listen to it enough and it's great to sleep to.
Rating: You know what...i'm gonna just give this one a 9/10 because i know once i buy it and listen to it enough i'm really really really gonna like this album alot.
#15. Thrice - Beggars
Okay, so this album leaked really really really really early and i'm still not entirely sure this is a real version of it...although i am...after listening to what can only be Dustin Kensrue songwriting...98% sure it's real...so just go with me on this. Thrice is a band i fell in love with in high school but never really blossomed into anything more than "yeah...the artist in the ambulance is a great album as well as the song deadbolt" but i will say this...this album is pretty awesome so far (i just got confirmation it's real btw). There are some very cool, creative riffs going on here...and i must say after listening to Dustin Kensrue's solo album enough i am very much a fan of their style now...this album actually at times reminds me of the dustin kensrue solo album...but with a full band and less country influence which isn't a bad thing really. This album gets a little old after awhile...but also this could just be a demo and the album isn't even finished yet so i'm going to say that there's a small chance it could sound better. Maybe it's just me...i think i kind of get bored too easily by this kind of stuff. I will say though that based on what i've heard from them...this is a very big change in direction...although not a bad one really.
Rating: I'll give it a 7/10 because i think it has alot of potential...but something about it just doesnt really get me yet...however i'm sure once i listen to it more i'll probably actually enjoy it because there is some pretty creative stuff going on here.
#16. Against Me! - The Original Cowboy
Honestly, this album doesnt really need to be reviewed...i just thought i'd throw it in here because Against Me! rules alot and i felt like talking about them. Okay, so this album is basically the original demo's of all the songs from "as the eternal cowboy" which is cool and whatnot...but there's one glaring problem here...they didn't put sink florida sink on here...that is kind of lame because that's my favorite song of there's so of course...why not just not include one of the best songs on that album on the re-release right? C'mon guys! Either way...all these songs are awesome so i'll let it slip...it's pretty cool hearing the original intent of these songs and then listening to the eternal cowboy and hearing how they ended up.
Rating: Well, i have no choice but to give it a 10...but alas i'm only gonna give it a 9/10 because i'm still pissed they didn't include sink florida sink!
#17. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
So, this is the first album i've ever heard by this band...and the reason is because they had so much hype over their last 2 albums that i felt the need to stay as far away from them as possible...but of course they had to go and get JoHo to produce some of the tracks on it so i had no choice! To make it short i'll just say that this album has a very cool vibe to it and you can tell very easily how much influence Josh Homme put in it because it has some very cool bass lines and the guitar work is pretty creative and awesome.
Rating: I'm giving this one a 9/10 just because Josh Homme produced it...the actual songs themselves aren't bad either...i'm gonna give this one a few more listens because it sounds pretty awesome.
#18. Jesu - Infinity
Justin K. Broadrick rules. Beautiful atmosphere. Heavy awesome riffage. Heavier than most Jesu albums. This album is 1 song that spans 49 minutes of awesomeness
Rating: 9/10 just because JKB is the man.
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