Another stacked week of new music for us to check out with some big releases in the country, rock and metal world. Let’s dive right in!
Morgan Wallen: I’m the Problem
A couple of years ago, I sat down to review Morgan’s last album for this release. In it, my main complaint was it’s length and lack of variety. To my absolute horror, two years later, the guy has doubled down, releasing another 37-track, two-hour mess of THE SAME SONG over and over again, just like before. It’s slow, boring, repetitive, and so very popified for a supposed country album. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an issue at all with pop music, but at least own it if that’s what you’re doing! I got a solid six songs into this thing before I started getting bored and a feeling of “I’d had my fill”. It’s a shame too, as the opener/title track was good and enjoyable… it just sadly all sounded like that sad-boi pop-country after that. Songs like ‘Kick Myself’, ‘Genesis’ and ‘Jack and Jill’ were also good, but pretty similar to the rest, just higher qaility. Not even the guest could really save it. Don’t get me wrong, multi-time collaborators Eric Church, Post Malone, ERNEST, HARDY etc all give him probably the best tracks on the album, but all pale in comparison to most of their own stuff. To my shock, my favourite was probably the ERNEST one, which I wasn’t expecting. I also lost track of how many people helped write this album, giving up when I reached 30 different artists not even halfway through the album credits.
I really don’t want to keep shitting on it, especially when this is the second week in a row I’ve shat all over one of the biggest albums of the year. But this was a solid 20+ tracks too long. I counted a solid 10 tracks here that would make a fantastic, chilled country-pop album, but the rest bloat it out and sadly ruin it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s clear that he’s talented in writing and singing, you don’t get nearly 40 million monthly listeners for nothing. But I am certainly not going to be one of them after this release. If you like it that’s awesome, I definitely see the appeal, but I want to be honest with my review and I sadly didn’t enjoy this, as much as I tried. There is some good stuff in there for sure, but one listen through is more than enough for me, I’ll stick to the odd song from here on out. 3/10, sorry…
Bury Tomorrow: Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience
The metalcore Brits are back with their eight studio album and DAMN, it’s pretty good! I didn’t review their last album on here but Max loved it, and now I have my own album to gush over on here! It’s like the perfect blend of the heaviness and screams of modern Parkway Drive and the big, cleaner choruses of I Prevail. The whole album is amazing, but tracks like singles ‘Villain Arc’ and ‘What If I Burn’, ‘Waiting’ and the brutal ‘Yõkai’ are all personal highlights. It’s really well put together, it having a great flow to it and the 43-minutes goes by in a flash, the heaviness being broken up perfectly by a couple of slower songs. And, I’d be remiss to mention how utterly fantastic the production is on this, everything sounds MASSIVE. The band still feel incredibly underrated; the metalcore is stacked with awesome bands again these days but these guys deserve to be up there at the front of the pack. It’s the perfect modern metalcore album. I can’t recommend this enough to anyone into the genre or heaviness in general, and it gets a very solid 9/10
Tyler Braden: devil and a prayer
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our review of it here.
The Callus Daoboys: I Don’t Want to See you in Heaven
This thing is pure heaviness for a full nearly-hour. And I have to say, I kinda love it. Don’t get me wrong, it certainly has plenty of melodic moments; big clean, uplifting choruses and some dropped-down sections. However, most of it is hardcore-esque heaviness with better guitaring. It’s the heaviest end of metalcore, and it’s fantastic. ‘Schizophrenia Legacy’ is the perfect way to open the thing (after the intro), and sets the scene perfectly for songs like ‘Full Moon Guidance’, ‘Tearsom Lambo Leather’ and ‘Idiot Temptation Force’. And even when it gets a little lighter, like the almost NIN ‘Lemon’, it’s still great and fits perfectly with the tone of the album! However, I definitely prefer them being heavier, almost bordering on Darko US at times! It’s a pretty varied album that, even when it’s not as heavy, still feels dark and aggressive. It makes for an interesting listen, and one I enjoyed a lot! It’s not far off my first time listening to the band, and they certainly have a new fan in me! If anyone is into the quirky side of heavy, I’d definitely recommend giving these a try. A solid 8/10 from us!
Damiano David: FUNNY little FEARS
The Måneskin frontman put out his highly anticipated debut solo album last Friday. Y’all know how I feel about Måneskin at this point but, thank God, I felt a little more positively towards this! It’s very clear this is the sort of music he wants to be making, as it feels so much more passion-filled than his main bands last album did. It’s a bit more pop-oriented, feeling like a soft/indie-rock album than anything else, but he’s clearly put his all into this and it shows. He’s a damn good vocalist and musician, and has produced a solid 50-minutes of radio-rock. Songs like the opener, ‘Zombie Lady’, ‘Angel’, ‘Born with a Broken Heart’ and ‘The First Time’ are all personal favourites, but I found myself enjoying every track on here! It’s just a good, fun, easy listen. I’m shocked and pleasantly surprised to say that I will definitely be listening to it again, and I’d recommend it to anyone curious! It’s a solid 8/10 from me, but it may get even higher with more listens!
Avery Anna: let go letters
The sophomore album from another massive new star in the pop/country music world, this is another hugely anticipated release from the Warner Nashville signee. It’s easy to see why it’s so hyped too, as this is a damn good release! Being a lot more on the pop-rock side of things over the country, which I actually wasn’t expecting from the label, I found myself comparing it to Olivia Rodrigo more than anything else. That’s hardly a complaint, as though she is easily hated in the rock world, she’s put out some bangers in her time. Avery is no different here. Songs like ‘GRAVE’, the more country-oriented ‘Self Esteem 4 Sale’ and the beautiful duet with Maggie Antone ‘Giddy Up!’ are all personal highlights. I also liked the couple of voice memos, acting like demos thrown on to break things up rather perfectly. Between them and the beautiful opening poem, there’s a lot going on on this to keep it interesting, something I do think it needed as the tracks themselves are rather similar in pace and feel.
The fact that it’s generally not my thing as a whole yet I still had a good time listening to it is a real testament to how well it’s written and performed. It’s easy to see why she’s become such a big name in such little time, and this album will surely push her up to the next level still! Even if it doesn’t sound like your sort of thing, check this out, you may be pleasantly surprised. It’s chilled-out and slow, and a little sad, but damn good! It gets a solid 8/10 from us!
Absolva: Justice
The seventh album from the NWOCR/power/heavy metal Mancs is honestly maybe my favourite thing they’ve put out. I was hooked right from the epic opener, the guests adding so much to it, and wasn’t let off the hook for a full 45-minutes. Songs like the slower, beautiful ‘Against the Odds of Time’, the awesome ‘Find my Identity’ and the Blaze Bailey-featuring ‘Atlas’ are also huge highlights on an album honestly packed full of them! It’s easy to see why they have been such a staple of the UK underground scene for all these years, and why they are doing so well in Europe currently. This is an incredible album that caters to fans of hard rock, heavy and power metal fans, young and old alike. And as I said, it may be their best release in their 13 years of doing so. I’d recommend this to absolutely anyone, and I’ll certainly be listening to it a lot in the coming weeks and months! Another very solid 9/10 from us, and it will certainly end up pretty high on our albums of the year list come December!
Ken Pomeroy: Cruel Joke
Ken’s sophomore album looks to pair her native American heritage with her Red Dirt Americana sound, and does so with pretty fantastic results. It’s yet another incredible chilled-out release, and was a nice one to just sit back and relax to. Songs like ‘Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’, ‘Wrango’ and ‘Days Getting Darker’ are great, but there really isn’t a bad song on here. It’s stripped-back and relaxed and another easy listen for the week. It’s not 100% my sort of thing as it did all blend together a little, but as an album as a whole it was a damn good one to sit and listen to. For anyone who’s into the slower, more relaxed end of the country/Americana world, it’s definitely worth giving this release a listen! 7/10
Root Zero: Dark Rainbow
The debut album from the Welsh prog metallers is a bit good, isn’t it? Technically off the charts from every instrument, and duel vocals that fill out the sound perfectly, almost adding a beautiful, ethereal feel and sound to the heavy chaos of the metal beneath them. And then, of course, we get some awesome, brutal screams periodically throughout too, fitting just as perfectly as the cleans. Both vocalists are INCREDIBLE. It all feels like the perfect blend of Opeth, Epica, Rioghan, and even at times Tool with some of the riffing and structure. Tracks like ‘I Drowned in the Desert’, heavy single ‘Ignis Fatuus’, and the epic title song are all big personal highlights. However, there really isn’t a bad song on here, and it all flows together rather excellently.
There’s definitely something in the water in Wales as the country produces so many incredible bands and musicians, and this is just another to add to that list. It’s not going to be for everyone, but they are going to become big names in the prog metal scene if they keep up with outputs as strong as this one! It sure is long, but it’s a fantastic journey to go on, especially if you can really sit back and listen and get lost in it. They have a new fan in me and I’ll certainly be listening to it again plenty! 8/10
Sleep Theory: Afterglow
This is like if Brendan Uri actually put out that metalcore-inspired album he was teasing a few years ago. And it’s also very good. The debut album of one of the fastest rising stars in the alt metal scene, it’s packed to the brim with catchy, heavy, radio-metal bangers. Cullen’s cleans are powerful and fit so well over the heavy guitars, while Daniel’s screams fit perfectly intermittently throughout, reminding the audience that they are, in fact, a metal band. Songs like the opener, ‘Hourglass, ‘Fallout’, and ‘Just a Mistake’ are big highlights for me. Though, while there isn’t a bad song on the album, it does feel like it loses its momentum a little in the middle due to one or two too many slower tracks in a row. They’re good, but ‘Stuck in My Head’ to ‘Parasite’ could have been spread out a little more through some of the heavier songs! Still, if you’re a fan of anything from From Ashes to New to A Day to Remember to, well, any band of that ilk, you’ll love this as much as I do. It’s easy to see why they’re as big as they are so quick, and this release will only work to push them even higher. I can see them being a huge name in the future, and for now it gets a very solid 8.5/10 from us!
Bryce Leatherwood: Self-Titled
The debut album of the 24-year old prodigy is honestly a masterclass in neo-traditional country goodness. It gives off BIG Drake Milligan from the start, and in the best possible way. It’s very much that late 2000s, early 2010s sound, big Jon Pardi and Blake Shelton vibes. And it’s done so well, too. From the opener to the beautiful ‘Still Learning’ and ‘What If She Does’ to the rockier ‘Where the Bar Is’ and ‘The Finger’ to the awesome closer and couple of bonus tracks, it’s 48-minutes of just good-fun rock-infused country music. It’s so nice to hear this sort of style still going strong, as it is very much my favourite vein of country music. And, out of the few doing it these days, I have to say Bryce may be up there among my favourites already! He’s got a damn bright future ahead of him, and a huge new fan in me. It’s a very easy 9/10 from me!
Joviac: Autofiction Pt. 1 – Shards
More prog metal, this time the third album from the Finish five-piece. It’s a little less darker and heavy than Root Zero’s offering, but is no less technical or epic. Some of the riffing on this is AMAZING. Heck, we’re three songs and nearly seven minutes into the thing before we finally get some vocals! Speaking of, I love the build-up of single ‘B.O.M.B.’ throughout, and is catchy as anything, almost have slight power/AOR metal ballad energy. I love the bass, drums and synth being the driving force of the track, too. And it perfectly sets up how awesome the vocals are going to be throughout the entire release. The epic, nine-minute ‘Burn’ follows up ‘B.O.M.B.’ perfect, and introduces us to Viljami’s equally impressive growls. And the keys on it are beautiful! It’s another huge album highlight. Then you have songs like ‘Shine’ and the rock-opera epic closer that are up there, too. However, the whole album is pretty great, and flows perfectly. The two ‘Level’ instrumental tracks are also incredible demonstrations of riffing and soloing.
The band are setting out to be Finland’s first breakout prog metal band, and this album has all the quality and tools to push them to that point! I’m already buzzing for Part 2, whenever that may release, and if it’s anything like this, we could be in for a truly special collection. I’d recommend this to any prog fans out there, and it’s a very solid 9/10 from us!