A slightly nicer week this week (for me, at least), with only six albums being released. And as always with new music Mondays join us as we go through them and tell you how great we think they are!
Papa Roach: Ego Trip
The singles from this album have had me both hyped for and dreading the release of the nu-metal legends’ 11th album. After hearing it, I was right to be apprehensive. This wasn’t great.
Now, I do have to admit, I haven’t been a fan of this band much past 2004s Getting Away With Murder, but I have liked the odd song here and there. It was pretty much the same feeling with this entire album. The opener, ‘Kill the Noise’, is classic Papa Roach and is awesome. Then you have tracks like ‘Unglued’ and ‘Cut the Line’ that are also great. But then a fair few of the songs sound like they are trying to be something they are not, taking style and sound from other bands. ‘Stand Up’ and ‘Bloodline’ sound like they are trying to capitalise on the recent popularity of rap-rock/metal artists like FEVER 333 and Ghostmane, while the vocal melody in ‘Liar’ feels ripped straight from Panic! At The Disco or Ice Nine Kills. And don’t even get me started on Swerve. I have been vocal in my dislike of the track since it’s release and I do believe it is the worst thing Jason Aalon Butler has ever been a part of.
So, overall not too impressed, I must say. 4/10
Jack White: Fear of the Dawn
The former half of White Stripes’ fourth solo album and first of two this year was released last week. It’s just as weird and fun as you would imagine it being. ‘Taking Me Back’ and ‘What’s The Trick?’ take me back to the good old White Stripes days while tracks like the title one are surprisingly heavy. It’s not all amazing, but it sure is all interesting. White has always been a fun, underrated songwriter, and that is on full display here. The album will definitely make it into my rotation for the next couple of weeks! 7/10
Cole Swindell: Stereotype
Country finally returns to Overtone with Cole Swindell’s fourth album. It’s definitely on the slower, not-rock side of country music, but there is enough good stuff here for it to be enjoyable. His duet with Lainey Wilson is fantastic and ‘Down to the Bar’ is good fun. Unfortunately the tracks with guests are by far the best tracks on the album. The rest isn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s all rather slow and… well… serious. I’m not after a comedy album or anything but at least give me something that sounds like you enjoyed writing and recording it, Cole. It was good but a depressing, kinda boring slog of an album. 5/10
Destruction: Diabolical
One of the ‘big 4’ of Germany, Destruction just released their whopping 15th studio album. Now, I’m a pretty big fan of thrash, but I do admit there is a large gap in my knowledge when it comes to Germany. I know Kreator, and that’s about it. Clearly I am going to have to change that, because this was awesome! You can tell they are a band that have been doing this for a while, everything is so polished and crisp, even for a thrash album. ‘No Faith in Humanity’, ‘Hope Dies Last’ and ‘Ghost From the Past’ are all massive highlights. My only slight issue is the same one I have with most thrash albums these days: it’s 13 tracks of straight thrash. The reason I like Metallica and Megadeth as much is because they would mix up the tempos and arrangements and keep the album interesting. 90% of thrash bands however, including Destruction apparently, just go hard from start to finish. It’s good, but took a little too long for me. 7.5/10
Short Stack: Maybe There’s No Heaven
The Aussie pop-punk rockers returned with their fourth album this last week. It has a very modern sound to it, combining pretty apparent influences from Linkin Park into the typical punk sound, while still having some harsh vocals thrown in for good measure. But, having said that, there are still traditionally pop-punk tracks too, like ‘Armageddon’ and ‘Sunshine’. Both styles are pretty great. The whole album is a damn strong offering and quite easily the best, most enjoyable album I’ve listened to this week. The band have a new fan in me, I shall definitely be checking out their old stuff! 8.5/10
The groove/thrash/hardcore metallers rose to fame quite early on as frontman Richie is the step-son of metal legend Max Cavalera. Now on their sixth studio album, though, the band have carved out their own path thanks to their awesome writing and musicianship.
All of that is on full display here. The album goes hard from start to finish with fantastic, heavy riff after riff. The vocals keep up with it too, delivering an onslaught of harshness and fantastic lyrics. Tracks like ‘Deadbeat’, ‘Built to Destroy’ and the family reunion track ‘War Soup’ are all massive highlights and all make the playlist. If you’re into you’re heavy, faster music give this a listen, you won’t be disappointed! 8/10
Some good stuff this week, though a little disappointed by the bigger names, surprisingly. Join us as always next week for the eventual release of Fozzy’s new album! Find it from our Facebook when it’s out from our link here.
Another big week for new music in rock and metal, both for younger bands and older ones. 11 albums in total, so let’s not waste time, here they are!
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Unlimited Love
I’m just going to leave a link to my full review of the album here. I hated that I wasn’t a big fan of it , and given that it’s had mixed (at best) reviews, at least I’m not alone. But hell, I don’t want to talk about this album any more, I want something funner. Find the score from the link, but it was not great.
Meshuggah: Immutable
The extreme-prog metal band have been on the roll of their careers the last 15 years or so. Despite forming way back in the late 80s, it wasn’t until 2008s ObZen when it felt like the band truly hit their stride commercially and artistically. The two albums that followed that were also amazing. Does this one live up to them?
After a slow start, we reach the single ‘The Abysmal Eye’ and the album takes off into a gear only few can hit. It’s heavy and crazy proggy while somehow still maintaining an almost Mushroomhead-like catchiness to it all vocally. It’s a good album, but I do have to admit it does get a little repetitive at times. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to have a reprieve from the brutality momentarily thanks to ‘They Move Below’ (what a track, by the way), but otherwise it’s pretty full on. Still, I cannot complain about having too much of a good thing really, can I? If you are a fan of Machine Head, Parkway Drive, or just general industrial, prog or extreme metal at all, check this out! 9/10
Islander: It’s Not Easy Being Human
The South Carolina alt-metal band has a lot of guests on it. Eight of the 17 tracks on the album has a guest vocalist or band member be a part of it. I’m not sure if that’s cool or overkill or feels cheep and like they couldn’t write a full album by themselves. Especially since tracks like ‘Evil’ and ‘The Outsider’ are just the band on their own and are both awesome tracks. Having said that though, some of the tracks with guests are also fantastic. In particular, ‘Skin Crawl’ with members of Korn, Zao and Living Sacrifice. It somehow sounds like a mixture of all four bands, blending the styles perfectly. The album as a whole is a diverse blend of styles, a melting pot of the early 2000s metal scene, from Linkin Park to Machine Head to Papa Roach to Korn. I love the whole scene they are going for, so the band have definitely gained a new fan in me! It’s maybe a tad bloated at 17 tracks, but it’s worth a listen from front to back, for sure! 8.5/10
Nekrogoblikon: The Fundamental Slimes and Humours
And now it’s time for a band that I don’t really get. I’ve always seen it as a gimmick that’s fun at first but the appeal never lasted too long. After this new album, I still don’t think I get it. I enjoyed it more than everything else I have heard from the band (which admittedly isn’t a lot), but I still don’t think I liked it. There’s some fun, catchy vocal lines and keyboard melodies, and the vocalist that sounds like he’s trying to be Axl Rose has a good voice. If it was just him and the carnival-style metal instrumentation behind it I could at a push enjoy it. But switching between that and the growling goblin and the sheer mess of songwriting each track is, I found myself getting lost and bored easily. ‘This is It’ is kind of a bop, though. I get that a lot of people like it and they aren’t the most serious of bands so maybe I’d appreciate it more live. But for now, 4/10
PUP: THE UNRAVELLING OF PUPTHEBAND
Pathetic Use of Potential, the band, are a fantastic Canadian punk band. Another band I hadn’t even heard of before I’d started doing this NMM, I’m disappointed that I hadn’t found them sooner. This album is amazing. It’s so refreshing to hear bands actually having fun with their music these days, especially when talking about some pretty deep subject matter at times. All of the ‘Four Chords’ parts are hilarious and tracks like ‘Totally Fine’, ‘Robot Writes a Love Song’ and ‘PUPTHEBAND Inc. Is Filing for Bankruptcy’ are all amazing. They can get pretty heavy at times, almost feeling like a punk version of early Biffy. And it all fits so well with the concept of the album. There isn’t a bad track on here and I’ll definitely be listening to it a lot over the coming months! 8.5/10
Wolf: Shadowland
The Swedish heavy metal band have worked hard since forming in ’95, on their 9th album since the turn of the millennium. Shadowland is exactly what you would expect out of a band heavily inspired by NWOBHM in 2022. It’s a good, fun rock album, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the sub-genre that arguably peaked nearly half a century ago. All the band members are immensely talented at music and songwriting, and tracks like ‘Dust’ and ‘Seek the Silence’ are definite highlights. I simply feel that after so much from Saxon and Priest and Accept over the years that new music like this isn’t too interesting to me. But as I said, I did enjoy the album, and I feel like I would love it live! 5.5/10
The sophomore album of fast-rising indie-punk band Crows feels like a big deal for them. Having toured with the likes of Wolf Alice and IDLES before and their first album being well received, this second seemed a little make or break. While I’m not really down with the whole indie scene, it definitely feels like it’s a big deal album for the scene. It’s pretty heavy and dirty, almost transcending the typical genre restraints. It definitely meant I enjoyed it more! The singles from the album are definite highlights, but I managed to listen through this whole thing without getting bored, which is rare for me! 5/10
Carpenter Brut: Leather Terror
I had never heard darksynth before today but came across this album when I was doing my research for this article. It’s pretty fucking heavy. Like, surprisingly so. And I kinda love it. Whenever the guest vocalists come in it feels like it takes away the heaviness a little, but it only drops down to around a BMTH level. If you are into industrial or techno influenced music or not I’d recommend checking this out anyway, it’s a completely different approach to heavy music and is interesting if nothing else. However, I found it damn enjoyable, with highlights including ‘Straight Outta Hell’ and ‘Night Prowler’. 7/10
Satan: Earth Infernal
The Geordie heavy metal band were around during the first surge of NWOBHM and have been on and off again ever since. Their fourth album since their 2011 reunion, Earth Infernal continues the band’s legacy pretty well. Some tracks, like ‘Twelve Infernal Lords’ and ‘Poison Elegy’ were enjoyable and highlights, but as I stated when it came to Wolf, I’ve simply gotten a tad bored of NWOBHM recently. At least new tracks in it, anyway. It’s not a bad album and it’s not like I’d skip a track if it came on or anything, it’s just not something I’d go out of my way to listen to. 5.5/10
Evil Invaders: Shattering Reflection
And finally we end this week on some thrash/heavy metal. The Belgian band have been around since 2007 but this third album may be their best yet. The riffs are fantastic, the vocals powerful, high and impressive and the song writing top notch. ‘In Deepest Black’ is one of the best ballads I’ve heard this year and ‘Eternal Darkness’ is a masterclass in old-school thrash metal the kind I haven’t heard in a long time. It reminds me a lot of Judas Priest’s Painkiller album, and it’s right up my street! Check this out! 8/10
And there we have it! What a week for metal music! As usual join us again next week, this time for nu-metal legends Papa Roach!
What can I even say this week? After the devastating news that rocked the entire music world over the weekend, it’s hard to tear my ears away from Foo Fighters. However, a lot of potentially great music came out last Friday, and one of them is very fitting, which you are about to read. Join me as we take a look at this week in music.
Also, as a little P.S. 13 albums came out last week, this is gonna be a long one.
Dream Widow: Self-Titled
Yes, let’s get the tough one out of the way first. The Foo Fighters’ alter ego metal band created for their very own movie, Studio 666, was released just the day before the tragic, untimely passing of their drummer Taylor Hawkins. While the immediate future of Dave Grohl and co. is up in the air, this album and Studio 666 is one hell of a statement to leave behind for a while.
First things first to get the obvious out of the way, Dave Grohl can scream damn well. It is not at all fair how damn talented that man is at everything. However, that’s not to take away from the rest of the band, this is a damn good extreme metal band. From the balls-to-the-wall opener through the massively catchy doom metal of ‘Cold’ to the albums single, it’s one of the strongest opening three tracks of any album this year. All three made the playlist, as did the suitably epic ‘Becoming’. It’s hard not to separate the situation from the music, but even if Taylor was still with us this would still be an incredible album and brings a lot of mainstream eyes on an otherwise sheltered sub-genre. All of it combined, how can I not give it 10/10?
Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout
Apologies in advance for even mentioning the man. However, whether we all like it or not, he is somehow classed as ‘rock’ music these days, and we are a rock publication, so unfortunately I’m gonna have to listen to it. I listened to his last album, Tickets to my Downfall, and believe I scored it around a 6. Let’s see if this one lives up to the ‘hype’ surrounding him.
It doesn’t. That was a TERRIBLE listen. I was already over it by the second track, but being the consummate professional I am, I gritted my teeth and bared it. It was the longest 40 minutes of my life. I don’t know what I hate more, his awful, not-even-autotune-could-save vocals or his angsty 12-year-old lyrics. Oh, or maybe it was how all the guest acts are somehow JUST AS BAD AS HE IS. Or maybe it’s this faux-rockstar persona he has decided to adopt, seemingly being proud to be a drug addict and suicidal, instead of putting any emotion or message behind his words. Heck, he couldn’t even have some attitude when he was calling out the people who shat on his last album. His autotune probably wouldn’t allow it. This experimentation into ‘pop-punk’ (it’s still just pop music) needs to end, it’s not good. Can someone write a rock diss track about him already and run him out of the genre like Eminem did with his rap career? 1/10
Placebo: Never Let Me Go
A band that I can safely say I used to be a fan of but haven’t really gotten into their stuff since 2006’s Meds. However, I have heard a single or two from this album on the radio and it’s sounding good, I’m more excited than I have been about their last two albums.
I have to admit, the singles were definitely the big highlights of the album. ‘Surrounded by Spies’ is my favourite track by the band since ‘Meds’ and the likes of ‘Beautiful James’ and even ‘Sad White Reggae’ are all awesome. However, not all of the album is quite as strong. The opener fell a little flat, as did tracks like ‘Hugz’ and ‘Twin Demons’. It’s still better than anything they have put out in a while, but at nearly an hour it may be just a tad bloated. Still, I enjoyed it a lot! 7/10
Animals as Leaders: Parrhesia
Instrumental djent pioneers Animals as Leaders dropped their much anticipated fifth album on Friday. The three once again prove why they are up there with some of the best musicians around today, in any genre. Heck, the opening track alone should prove that, from Matt’s insane drum playing to some truly inspired guitar work and THAT bass part, the band show why they get so much praise. And that’s just the first five minutes. Then you have the two huge singles in ‘Monomyth’ and ‘The Problem of Other Minds’ which are both equally brilliant. Oh, and the other six tracks are pretty great too! As usual, if you struggle with instrumental music you’ll probably still find this a tough 35 minutes, but it’s a solid album that’s well worth checking out even a bit of. 7.5/10
The Finnish Glam rockers returned to the studio after six years away from it and, just like their last album, their sound has evolved somewhat again. I have to admit, I kept wanting to call this Turbo Lover instead of Turborider; the band seem to have adopted elements of Judas Priest’s Turbo and Painkiller albums into their own sound. It’s heavier and more electro-pop, but still keeps the underlying elements of glam that brought them to the dance with their first few albums.
Honestly, I’m not sure how convinced I am by the change in sound. Don’t get me wrong, I love the heavier tracks like the title track and the old-school-glam of ”89 Sparkle’, but some of the rest feels like the bands attempt to capitalise on the somehow still rolling wave of 80s nostalgia. They don’t capitalise quite as well as the likes of Stranger Things or The Weeknd, and it somehow comes across as less genuine than playing straight up 80s glam. They will always have a hard task beating Spirit, and while this was overall enjoyable, they didn’t with this one. 6/10
COIN: Uncanny Valley
American pop-rock band COIN returned with their fourth album over the weekend. It’s definitely on the lighter end of rock music, but stuff like ‘Chapstick’ and ‘Cutie’. Unfortunately, the rest was all painfully slow and samey, boring me pretty quick. It’s not my sort of thing at all, but if you enjoyed it more power to you! 3/10
Don’t worry guys, Abbath is here to bring some metal back to the proceedings. The former Immortal front-man returned with his third studio album, and it’s just as dark and black metal as all the rest of his stuff. If anyone is familiar with any of his stuff then you know exactly what to expect here, and it’s good. I do still feel like once you’ve listened to one black metal album you’re pretty familiar with it all, it’s still the one sub-genre of metal I don’t quite ‘get’, but it’s still an okay listen all the same! Highlights include ‘Scarred Core’ and ‘Septentrion’. Also a shout-out to their ‘Trapped Under Ice’ cover, it’s heavier than the original and I think it does it some favours! 6/10
Hardcore Superstar: Abrakadabra
Swedish hard rock band Hardcore Superstar have been around a lot longer than most realise, with Adbrakadabra being the bands 12th studio album. I’ve been a fan since their self-titled album, and honestly this one is fairly close in terms of quality. Tracks like ‘Influencer’, ‘Weep When I Die’ and ‘Give me a Smile’ all sound fantastic, like they were written by a band comfortable and proud of their sound. Plus, single ‘Catch Me If You Can’ is one of the best songs they’ve ever written, in my opinion. Great stuff from one of the most underappreciated bands of the last decade. 8/10
Falls of Rauros: Key to a Vanishing Future
Time for some more black metal, this time with some slight folk influence. I hadn’t even heard of the band before this article but already appreciate the LOTR reference. Like I said previously, it’s still black metal, so not a massive amount stands out from me compared to the Abbath album earlier. Don’t get me wrong, the atmosphere is a little different, it feels a tad more epic and open, more room to breathe. But musically it is a lot of the same elements and tropes and generally they don’t interest me as much as other sub-genres. Please don’t hate me in the comments. But, having said that, it was still a decent album. 5/10
Ignite: Self-Titled
The melodic hardcore band bring some much needed punk to NMM, as no enough punk bands put stuff out regularly any more. I’ve been a fan of this band for a few years now, ever since Spotify recommended the Our Darkest Days album. They always reminded me of a heavier Anti-Flag, which is high praise as they are one of my favourite bands. And, honestly, this album is up there with some of the best either band have produced. It’s heavy, catchy, punk AF and honestly has a great anti-establishment message behind it that music is definitely lacking in these days. I’m struggling to even pick highlights out of it, it’s all that good. Check out the playlist for the very best of the tracks, but honestly I could have put the whole album on there. 9/10
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard: The Harvest
The Welsh prog-doomers are back with a follow-up to 2019s Yn Oi I Annwn. I actually reviewed it back in 2020, giving it an 8/10 I believe. They are a great band and let’s see if this one measure up to their last!
It’s just as epic and ethereal as the previous album, something I loved back then. Everything is given such room to breathe, getting the most out of every section and riff. Between that and the multiple interlude tracks between songs that tie everything together in a nice little spacy bow, this is definitely an album to listen to all the way through in one. Chuck this on and lay back in a dark room, maybe with some questionable substances in your system, and just enjoy. But, if you don’t have that much spare time or acid, holy crap is ‘Logic Bomb’ amazing. It’s another home-run form yet another band that don’t get the credit they deserve. It’s another 8/10.
Light Beneath: Self-Titled
And finally we reach the debut album of Finnish post-metal band Light Beneath. It’s heavy, I’ll give them that. However, it’s in the slower, more open stuff that I find myself enjoying it more. The intro to ‘Sirens’ is beautiful, and the way the it all fits together is so Tool it’s insane. In fact, said track is my favourite on the album, it’s sludgy and heavy and builds perfectly through the screaming and drums. The other tracks are good, but they don’t have quite as fun or memorable a structure as ‘Sirens’. Overall, though, a solid debut! 7/10
And there we have it, a MASSIVE week in rock and metal music, with some fantastic albums out, albeit amongst some not so great ones. Stay tuned for next week: Red Hot Chili Peppers! Keep an eye out on our socials here for it!
Welcome back to New Music Mondays, where we go over all of the new releases from the world of rock. Another eight albums or us this week, so let’s check them out!
Feeder: Torpedo
Feeder were a band similar to The Darkness, exploding onto the scene in the early 2000s and capitalising on the mainstreams last few years of true love for rock music. Heck, they headlined Download Festival, for crying out loud. That’s big. Then, as quickly as they arrived, they seemed to disappear again. However, I can safely tell you that not only have they continued to make music, but it has been consistently pretty good.
Torpedo is no different. Tracks like ‘The Healing’ channel the bands inner Foo Fighters while the title track and ‘Magpie’ have a heaviness to them that I often forget that I oft forget they have. It’s a solid album all round, both from a heavier and lighter perspective. It shows that the band should never have dropped back down the pecking order, as this is one of the strongest overall albums of the year so far. Something I was not expecting to say today! 8/10
Cypress Hill: Back in Black
While technically not ‘rock’ by any means, Cypress Hill have always been in that scene, even before B-Real joined Prophets of Rage. However, this is by far the least rock I have heard them. I*t’s a straight up elate 90s rap record, tired themes and all. I’m a pretty big fan of that era of rap, and this band, but it was pretty underwhelming. 3/10
Sonic Youth: In/Out/In
If you thought the album title was weird, this album is only 5 tracks long but runs for 45 minutes. Ugh. I know it isn’t exactly new music, more a rarities album, but it is still a new release. Now, I don’t not like prog, when it’s done right and kept interesting. Rush are a perfect example, as are Dream Theater, two bands who constantly change things up in the songs and have the heaviness to appreciate too. But a 9-minute instrumental track to open the album that revolves around the same slow, boring chord progression throughout is not at all my thing. This is somehow worse than Grateful Dead. See how long you can subject yourself to down below and leave your scores in the comments! 2/10
Stabbing Westward: Chasing Ghosts
This is more like it! The industrial rock band’s fifth studio album and first since their 2016 reunion pulls no punches, opening on a fantastic, heavy, industrial guitar riff that really sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s a dark, heavy and everything I wish Nine Inch Nails would do for a full album. It’s definitely one hell of a return album with a good few highlights, including ‘Cold’, ‘Ghost’ and ‘Control Z’. If you’re a fan of industrial rock at all, you’ll love this. 7.5/10
Weezer: SZNZ: Spring
Firstly, how rude of Weezer put out an album on a Sunday instead of a Friday like the rest, making me work all weekend! Secondly, the band are no strangers to overtone, with their 2021 album getting a very respectable 7.5 from us. And, this is one of four albums the band are releasing this year, one for each season. It’s definitely an ambition plan!
I love the idea behind having four widely different feeling albums that fit with the season they are named after, but the light, happy, folky spring album didn’t do much for me. I’m definitely more a fan of Weezer’s heavier, rockier stuff over their more pop leaning, and there wasn’t much of that here. Single ‘A Little Bit of Love’ is a tune, though! 6/10
Agathodaimon: The Seven
The German black metal band go hard on their first album in nine years. However, while it’s pretty extreme at times, I was also pretty surprised to hear some clean vocals throughout. It was nice to hear a black metal band branch out and diversify a little throughout their album rather than just an all out assault on the ears. The heaviness is still there for sure, but so is the melody, and it helps this album a lot for me. The fact that there are catchy vocal lines and guitar solos is fantastic and definitely puts this above your average super-heavy album. And it still has plenty of epicness from the symphonic side of stuff. No matter your music tastes, check out ‘The Divine’, you won’t be disappointed! 8.5/10
Bringing a more pop-punk flavour to NMM, Audio Karate returned with their fourth studio album last week. The album is at it’s best when it leans into the punk side over the pop, too. Tracks like ‘Segway’ and ‘She Looks Good’ channel almost Rancid or Distillers vibes, and sound a lot more appealing to me than the opening track or ‘Care Carelessly’. Generally there is more good than meh on the album, but the good stuff is surprisingly towards the latter stages of the album. The last three tracks on the album are easily the best on it. 6.5/10
Dark Funeral: We Are The Apocalypse
Swedish death metal band Dark Funeral put out their seventh album last week. It’s okay. It’s enjoyable, don’t get me wrong, but in my limited foray into the sub-genre that I have experienced through this company it doesn’t sound like it is doing much different or too interesting. Tracks like ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Leviathan’ are good, but didn’t do a lot to hold my interest. 6/10
And that’s all folks! As always keep up to date on our socials here and tune in next week for, depending on your tastes, Machine Gun Kelly and Placebo!
Another week, and a bunch more new music for us to go through, Strap yourselves in, this week’s all over the place!
Ghost: IMPERA
The pop metallers have been at the top of their game and near the top of the rock world for the last few years now. However, the singles from this new album have been a bit of a mixed bag. The one I have dropped below is great, but some of the others didn’t do much for me. You can check out the full review for the album, alongside the score, from the link here.
Changing pace less than one would expect, we make it to soft rock legend Bryan Adams’ 15th studio album. I don’t even know what to say about it, anyone who’s heard Bryan Adams before knows exactly what to expect, and he doesn’t let them down with this. I’m a big Bryan Adams fan though so I loved this. Tracks like the title one, ‘Always Have, Always Will’ and the ACDC quoting, John Cleese featuring awesomeness that is ‘Kick Ass’ are all massive highlights. 8/10
Set It Off: Elsewhere
Pop-punkers Set It Off put out their fifth studio album last week. It starts off a little slow with their weakest single, ‘Skeleton’, but ‘Projector’ in contrast is one of the favourite tracks I’ve heard from the band. Cody Carson is one of the best rappers currently around and criminally underrated at that and singing a damn catchy chorus. In fact, every chorus on this album is incredible. They somehow manage to out-Panic!-At-The-Disco Brendan Urie these days, it’s that well written. The style may not be for everyone of course, but this grew on me more and more throughout. A DAMN good album! 8.5/10
American punk band BODEGA released another odd album on Friday. I somehow don’t get it and really like it at the same time. It’s chilled out, radio-friendly punk music that reminds me a lot of the likes of R.E.M. and even The Cult. It’s a good, fun album if you want something more relaxing to throw on than our usually covered content. Tracks like the opener and ‘Pillar on the Bridge of You’ are highlights. 7/10
Drug Church: Hygiene
Another New York based band, but this time post-hardcore. It’s definitely the lightest post-hardcore music I’ve ever heard, but that isn’t a bad thing! It’s fun, catchy and ch0nky punk rock, and an enjoyable and concise 26 minutes. Highlights include the opening track and the single, ‘Million Miles of Fun’. 6.5/10
Konvent: Call Down the Sun
And finally we reach the death/doom band’s sophomore album. While still relatively new to the scene, their blending of the two rather different sub-genres is impressive and oddly hypnotic. And, while it shouldn’t really be a factor these days, the fact that it is an all-female band does make it even more impressive. It sounds like what you would have expected Black Sabbath to sound like back in the day if you had only seen the reactions of worried mothers trying to stop their children from listening to such satanic music. It’s great. The singles are highlights, as is the epic closing track. The band have a new fan in me! 7.5/10
And there you have it, another week of great rock music! Next week, Feeder!
New music time! Six new albums from six awesome bands. Let’s get straight to it!
Oh, but first, a quick honourable mention: check out The Death South’s covers EPs, Easy Listening for Jerks! Neither are albums or exactly rock, but cover some rock songs and are definitely worth a listen!
Welsh rock band Stereophonics put out their 11th studio album last week. That makes me feel old. I was a big fan back in their early days, but generally haven’t liked much after ‘Langauge. Sex…’. This album perfectly demonstrates my issue with the band. It’s good music, it’s perfectly passable soft/pop rock and there are definitely some standout tracks. However, I didn’t get into Stereophonics or the plodding, slow ballads. I got into them from ‘Bartender and the Thief’ and ‘Check My Eyelids for Holes’. I know the band has always had a liking of slower tracks, but they used to spread them out between more upbeat ones. This is nearly all slow. When Elton John could put out a more rockin’ album these days, it’s definitely not a good sign. However, the opening track and ‘Running Around my Brain’ are both good! 5/10
Sabaton: The War To End All Wars
The Swedish power metal titans released their tenth album on Friday, and to no surprise it is also about war. Also to what should be no ones surprise, it’s really good. Those who know me know I’ve always been a little so-so when it comes to power metal, but this is a masterclass in how the genre is done from the very best in the genre. From the very opening note of ‘Stormtroopers’ to the epic closing fade-out of ‘Versaille’, it is a 40-minute collection of awesomeness. All the singles are slow, ballad-style epics, and tracks like the opener and ‘Hellfighters’ are awesome faster tracks! 8/10
The doom/sludge metal band finally released their first album after six years. I am a pretty big fan of Kirk Windstein from his amazing playing alongside Pepper Keenan in Down, but I’ll admit I haven’t checked out Kirk’s original band much before. I don’t know why either, because I liked it! It’s heavy, brimming with riffs and, well, sludgy! This band get nowhere near as much love as they should get, and I blame that for why I haven’t listened to them much. Tracks like ‘Bleeding From Every Hole’ and ‘Confess to Nothing’ are perfect examples of the bands style and a great jumping-in point to the genre, for those interested! 7.5/10
The Flower Kings: By Royal Decree
The prog rock band are definitely the weirdest album on this list this week, but that shouldn’t take away from the album at all. It reminds me a fair bit of Jethro Tull in its arrangement and feel, especially their new album that came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s weird, long, and shows off a talent for instrumentation and songwriting that I can only dream of. My only criticism is that most of the tracks are around the 5+ minute mark, but there’s 18 of them. The album is over an hour and a half long. As the saying goes, you can in fact have too much of a good thing. I will definitely be listening to this album a good few times, but I definitely couldn’t stick it on and concentrate through the whole thing in one sitting, it would have to be more background music. Still as I said, a fun, enjoyable album! 7/10
Ghost Toast: Shade Without Colour
Time to get heavy…ish. I’m not sure if they would prefer to be described as math metal or post-Tool, but it definitely has that sort of vibe! For those who can’t get into the genre, I have to warn you it is also instrumental. I personally enjoy instrumental music, though a full hour + is a tad too much for me all at once. Still though, the entire band are incredibly talented, and tracks like ‘Get Rid of’ and ‘Let Me Be No Nearer’ are definite highlights of a very good album! It’s the sort of music that I would LOVE to see live. 7/10
Midnight Bullet: Hostile Resistance
The thrashy groove metallers are on their fourth album now, and seem to just keep getting better and better. An album filled with terRIFic riffs (thank you), it very much wears its inspirations on its sleeve. From Pantera to Testament to Mastadon and even some Alice in Chains, all are present throughout this album, and it’s a great blend of styles that works perfectly for the band. The title track and ‘Dead Redemption’ are particular highlights for me, and well worth a listen! 8/10
And there we have it, another great week, particularly for metal. Check out next week’s too from our Facebook herefor Bryan Adams and more!
Eight more rock and metal albums graced the scene this week, from all over the world. A lot of it is from some amazing newer bands too, while a few of the older ones still holding down the fort. It’s an exciting week for new music, so let’s get right to it!
The German hard rock/heavy metal group are the oldest band on this list by a fair stretch, and with the release of this double album it takes them up to a whopping 19. It’s long, over an hour spread across 16 tracks, but it proves the band very much still have it. The opening track, ‘Gas in the Tank’ outlines my sentiments perfectly. The album is full of highlights but standout tracks include ‘Peacemaker’, ‘Seventh Sun’ and ‘Call of the Wild’. 8/10
Bad Omens: THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND
Another band to hop on the capitalise the album title trend are American metalcore band Bad Omens. The bands third album, much like their previous two, is on the lighter end of the metalcore spectrum, clearly inspired by Sempiternal-era BMTH. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave the album with a feel of ‘this has been done before’. Not every album needs to be ground-breaking, but I was hoping to get something a little heavier when I read ‘metalcore’. What a diverse, wide-spread sub-genre it is these days. Still, tracks like the opener and ‘Like a Villain’ are definite highlights. 6.5/10
Avril Lavigne: Love Sux
While primarily pop music, Avril‘s first album or two were definitely pop-punk, and with a promise of going back to that style with this album (alongside a fairly promising lead single), I thought it was at least worth checking out. I can confirm it is at least pop-punk. Whether it’s good or not… I’m not sure. It definitely has the same energy and feel as Let Go, but the issue I have, much like some of the other older pop-punk bands’ most recent albums is exactly that. She’s going on 40 now, and writing music like you are still 18, alongside spelling things like ‘bois’ and ‘Sux’, feels cringy. Plus, both MGK and Blackbear ruin their respective tracks. But Mark Hoppus kills it on ‘All I Wanted’, it being the best track he’s done since before Blink-182’s reunion over a decade ago. Plus, after his recent health issues, it’s really heart-warming to hear him back in music again.
However, despite all of the negativity, I cannot help but enjoy the album. Avril has definitely retained the ability to write one hell of a pop-punk chorus, and I’m going to again have3 ‘Bite Me’ stuck in my head for days now. An up and down album, but I think I can settle on a solid 7.5/10
Blues/NWOCR forerunner Elles Bailey released her third album on Friday, and it’s really good. It’s a Dorothy, American pop-rock sound but with enough blues and country edginess and twang to add some grit and darkness to it. Heck, opening track ‘Cheats and Liars’ perfectly encapsulates the sound, I would say, and is a damn good intro to her as an artist. Honestly though, if you are into the slower blues style, this whole album is one big highlight. It’s steady, chilled and full of great vocals and lyrics. Oh, and the guitars are enough for me to geek out over so they must be good! I would happily and highly recommend this album to anyone. Give it a list, you won’t be disappointed! 9/10
Corpsegrinder: Self-Titled
The Cannibal Corpse frontman finally released his much anticipated debut album over the weekend. To put it simply, it’s about exactly what you’d expect. I have become a rather medium fan of George Fisher due to the sheer amount of awesome guest slots he’s done on awesome tracks by other bands over the last couple of years. However, this didn’t quite measure up to ‘Take Your Pick’ or ‘Parpaing’. That’s not to say it’s bad by any stretch, though. It’s death metal through and through, and damn good death metal at that. Tracks like ‘On Wings of Carnage’ and ‘Crimson Proof’ were definite highlights for me, having me headbanging along from start to finish. And, I have to add, what an album cover! 7.5/10
Black Lakes: For All We’ve Left Behind
An awesome Welsh alt metal band, we had the pleasure of reviewing this album last week before it was released. It was good. How good? Read our reviewof it to find out for yourself!
Blood Incarnation: Timewave Zero
What the fuck was that? Am I being pranked here? I was expecting some death metal, not 40 minutes of ambient sounds. This is Devin Townsend’s wet dream and not my sort of thing at all. 1/10, I’m sorry.
Another band we reviewed ahead of time (we are on FIRE this week) is the debut from NWOCR’s newest band, Just a Ride. It’s good, and if you want to find out the score, you’ll have to check out the review for yourself here.
Another fantastic week, with the smaller bands really bring it this time round! Black Lakes and Elles Bailey in particular put out fantastic albums that are up there in the running for top of the year so far. The British music scene is really thriving right now! As always stay tuned for next week’s NMM and for the big one… Stereophonics!
While not featuring as many big names as the previous couple of weeks, there are still plenty of bands here to sink your teeth into. And it’s definitely a week for the heavy fans out there! Let’s check out all the new music, shall we?
Bloodywood: Rakshak
Gaining a lot of popularity over the last few years due to their blend of Indian folk music with a nu-metal sound, Bloodywood released their second album last week, a follow-up to 2017’s pop covers album Anti-Pop Vol. 1. I love their singles over the last couple of years and their covers were a lot o fun, so I’m excited to hear this!
It’s the perfect blend of heaviness, nu-metal inspired rapping, folk elements and occasional subtle comedy. Heck, opening track and lead single ‘Gaddaar’ perfectly encapsulates what the band and album are about, and it’s excellent. Then you have tracks like ‘Aaj’, ‘Dana-Dan’ and the wonderfully heavy ‘Bsdk.exe’ making the album full of highlights. Metal is in a really interesting, healthy place right now with all of these new bands trying to branch out their sound, and I think Bloodywood may take their place towards the front of the pack if this album is anything to go by. 8.5/10
The Birthday Massacre: Fascination
The goth rock band put out their ninth studio album last week, their first in a couple of years. I’ve never really gotten into the scene so have no reference point in terms of their old music. I have to admit, I don’t really get it. It’s like a slightly heavier HIM, and I could never get into HIM growing up either. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s all rather plodding and repetitive and a little boring. I guess the single ‘Dreams of You’, is a highlight and if you like this sort of music I’m sure you’d find many more as it’s a pretty samey album. But for me, I can’t give it much higher than a 4/10
Midnight Oil: RESIST
Continuing the strange modern tradition of capitalised album titles, the Australian rock band put out their 13th studio album last week. The second since their 2016 reunion, the band definitely give it their all. From the slow-build intro of ‘Rising Seas’ through soft rock tracks like ‘Tarkine’, ‘Nobody’s Child’ and ‘We Are Not Afraid’, the band show off a lot of talent across their 12 tracks. I feel hypocritical because this is also a slow album, but unlike the previous album on this list this one held my attention a lot more and was a LOT more enjoyable. It’s a good mixture of Billy Joel, David Bowie and Elton John and is a damn good album from a band that have been at the game a good long while! 7/10
Aaaaand back onto the heaviness. The death metal band are on their 11th studio album and show no signs of slowing down. After a clean (but still menacing) start to the album with the opener, the almost title track bursts in with blisteringly quick drums and guitars and low growled vocals, and the album doesn’t let up from there. It’s a lesson in how to do death metal well, with some great riffs and fun dynamics to show that it isn’t just a wall of sound constantly. ‘An Act of God’ is a definite highlight and the opening riff of ‘Apostle’ is enough to make it onto the playlist on its own merit. A fun death metal album for anyone into that sort of music! 7/10
Sleepwulf: Sunbeams Curl
Psychedelic/doom/stoner rock/metal band Sleepwulf released their sophomore album last week. The band burst straight in with their interesting blend of sounds and styles and dark lyrical content immediately with the aptly titled ‘Satan is King’. It’s like desert rock blended with Black Sabbath and Kyuss. Think The Sword but with less riffs. It is massively enjoyable. It’s lighter than I was expecting but the songwriting is off the charts good. It’s an old-school sound modernised just enough to keep it interesting. Other highlights include ‘Sex Magic Manifestation’, ‘Man in the Mountain’ and ‘Bury Me Backwards’. 8/10
Gtarzee: Nine Tracks
We finish on some more rock. Finnish blues rock, to be exact, with Gtarzee’s debut album. It’s a damn enjoyable album at that, too. From the guitar showcase of the opening track to the opening vocals of ‘Jealousy’, the album starts awesomely. Brian Forth’s vocals sound awesome on the latter track, giving it much more of a glam sound. However, the guest vocalists here do draw attention to the fact that Gtarzee himself doesn’t have the best voice. Sometimes it works, like in another album highlight ‘Sunday Blues’, but other times it doesn’t fit with the music quite as well as Forth’s voice did. Still, it’s a fun album and well worth a listen if you get the chance! 6/10
And there we have it, a surprisingly strong week that I wasn’t expecting going in! Some great albums and as usual some strong metal. Next week, Scorpions!
Did you enjoy the article? Keep up to date on all of them through our Facebook pagehere.
A HUGE week for New Music Mondays this week. After a pretty big week last week it somehow gets even bigger for the second week of February. Seven albums from some of the biggest bands in the genre of the past and present. This is gonna be good. Join us as we check them out!
The fourth official album from the GnR guitarist and his conspirators and his sixth overall solo album, 4, has a lot to live up to. I have to admit personally the last couple of albums haven’t done much for me. A scattering of decent songs between both, but their last truly good album was Apocalyptic Love.
Unfortunately, their new music doesn’t change that opinion for me. Now, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a bad album per say. But there is absolutely nothing remarkable or stand-out on it at all. It is an average-at-best rock album, but this is the guy that wrote ‘Paradise City’ alongside the guy that wrote ‘Blackbird’. What the fuck happened? There is barely a memorable riff or chorus on the album; it seems completely phoned in outside of the solos. 95% of the NWOCR movement has written better music than this but this will get millions of streams and high festival billings and arena tours simply because of who is involved. Either Slash is saving all his good stuff for the new GnR album or he has finally lost it. I have most likely just come in with too high expectations again but either way, I’ve finally lost hope in this band. If you liked it awesome, please don’t @ me, but this bored me to tears. 3/10
Frank Turner: FTHC
You know the drill by now folks. First big album of this year to get a full review and it had to be Franky T. Check back on the site in a couple of days for the full review and score, but for now, enjoy this fantastic song and video…
Eddie Vedder: Earthing
The Pearl Jam/Temple of the Dog frontman released his fourth solo album the other day, and it sounds probably exactly how you expected it to if you are familiar with any of his work. Huge, steady, and anthemic, it’s everything the guy became famous for in the 90s. And that is in no way a complaint. I love Pearl Jam, and this is very much just an extension of them, at this point. There’s enough rockier, higher tempo stuff to keep it interesting (in a very U2 kinda way), but the anthemic feel is the real highlight. Tracks like the opening two and ‘Brother the Cloud’ are definite high points, but the whole album is a fun listen if you are looking for something more chilled out and relaxed. 7/10
Cult of Luna: The Long Road North
A band with a LOT of buzz around them right now, Cult of Luna have been around a lot more than I imagine many think. Starting way back in 1998, the band have just put out their ninth studio album. And the post/prog metal band may have delivered their finest album yet.
It’s dark, heavy, and a whole lot of fun. It won’t be for everyone, most of the tracks range from 6-12 minutes in length with the odd exception and there are no clean vocals to be heard, but it is a fantastic work of art when listened from front to back. And that is exactly how this was written to be consumed. Yes single ‘Cold Burn’ and the fantastic 12-minute epic ‘An Offering to the Wild’ are both excellent stand alone tracks, but they fit even better in the context of the album. Also a huge shout out to Mariam Wallentin and Colin Stetson for their work on ‘Beyond I & II’ respectively, both are fantastic interlude-style tracks that added so much to the album, and are two more firm favourites for me. I can’t give it anything less than an 8.5/10, but it may very well be a 9 at some point too. Great stuff!
Zeal & Ardor: Self Titled
From one complex, strange metal album to another. However, the tracks are a little shorter this time! The Swiss avant-garde metal band are another that have gained a LOT of hype and attention ahead of this release, and it is 100000% justified. This is a phenomenal album. From the opening title track to the heavy single ‘Run’ to the slower, plodding and piano-featuring ‘Death to the Holy’, it’s all awesome. And that’s just the opening three tracks, there are still another 11 left.
Don’t get me wrong, not all of it knocks it completely out of the park. ‘Emersion’ is a little too modern-Devin Townsend for me and ‘Golden Liar’ doesn’t quite get out of the indie stage. However, then there are tracks like ‘Bow’, ‘I Caught You’ and ‘Chruches Burn’ that are insanely good. The blend of styles, from extreme metal to tribal stuff to country and even a bit of punk is really interesting. The great far outweighs the not as great, and makes for the second highlight album of the year so far, and maybe my favourite album of the last two months. 9/10
Only Human: Scar Weaver
I really wanted to like this. However, the only thing this accomplished is making me more impatient for the new Machine Head album. Flynn was the best part of this album for me, and the rest felt a little bland. There simply just weren’t any riffs. I know how much I sound like a guitarist right now, but riffs provide such a core part of metal songs and to not have them definitely leaves it feeling like something is missing.
However, it is still enjoyable from a vocal/lyrical standpoint and ‘Deadlock’ is a definite highlight, with Robb’s vocals fitting and contrasting with Skyler Howren’s. A fun album for sure, but it was definitely not as good as it’s single overall. 6/10
Amorphis: Halo
I knew nothing about this band heading into this aside for the fact that I had seen their name around a bit. I decided to keep it that way and go in completely blind. They’re like if Iron Maiden and Dream Theatre had a child together but that child was kinda short and really into Amon Amarth. It’s fantastic. The big power metal instrumentation is amazing and so epic, while the vocalist(s?) nail it with the growls and cleans. My only slight nit-pic is that it gets a tad formulaic around the midpoint: big opening riff, growled verses, clean, uplifting choruses and then a dropped down bridge in the middle somewhere. However, as people say, you can never had too much of a good thing. A band that I shall definitely be keeping a close eye on from now on thanks to a fantastic album. 8.5/10
The Canadian prog metal band returned with their 15th studio album last week. Another band I wasn’t too familiar with before now and again I hate it because this was also really good. It’s somehow the weirdest album on this album, which is saying a lot. But tracks like the opener and ‘Planet Eater’ are interesting and a lot of fun. It feels like a guitarists album as the vocals aren’t the strongest, but it doesn’t need them with this level of songwriting. A fun album! 7/10
And there we have it folks. What a week for metal! What a time for new music in general! I’ve found at least three albums here that I love and all from bands I wasn’t all too familiar with beforehand. Hopefully you guys are the same as there is some really good music here! Check back next week on our Facebook here for a slower one!
As we hit February and the dust settles on the new year we start to see more and more bands beginning to put out new music. This year is no exception. From nu-metal to pop punk, we have eight new albums to check out this week. Strap yourselves in, ladies and gents, it’s a long one!
14 albums for the nu-metal godfathers. Boy that makes me feel old. I would also argue the band are still yet to put out a bad album. Sure, Path of Totality didn’t knock it out of the park, but there was still good stuff on that album and the band have been on form with the three since. Fingers crossed their first new music in a couple of years is more of the same.
Requiem continues that excellence. From the heaviness and one of the best riffs Munky has written in years in ‘Forgotten’ through the emotion-filled and catchy ‘Let The Dark Do the Rest’, it is the best one-two punch the band have released to start an album in years. By the time it reaches its lead single the track is rather overshadowed. And honestly, that continues throughout the album. the lead single, ‘Start the Healing’, is the weakest track by a fair margin, and an odd choice for a single. The other eight tracks and 29-minutes are some of the best Korn have ever put out. If anything, there simply isn’t enough of it!
It feels like what the band were going for on Korn III but perfected. And Davis’ voice sounds as good as ever, as well as his lyrics being emotional and brooding as ever. Check this out, you won’t be disappointed! 8.5/10
Saxon: Carpe Diem
24 albums later and Saxon have no right still being this good. The band have been on fire in the last decade, with Sacrifice, Battering Ram and Thunderbolt being a great run of form. Just like Korn before, their new music doesn’t break that track record. The opening and title track is one of the best singles the band have ever released and tracks like ‘The Pilgrimage’ and ‘Super Nova’ being big highlights too. As usual the band straddle the line between NWOBHM and thrash superbly, and sound like a band easily 20 years younger than they are. Another must for metal fans. 8/10.
Rolo Tomassi: Where Myth Becomes Memory
A band that I have heard the name of a bunch but have never checked out before now. That’s right, you’re getting rare fresh reaction from me! Because of this I didn’t even look into what genre the band was or any of their previous material, I just dove right in. All iI know is that I think they’re kinda heavy.
It was definitely interesting. I’m not 100% sure I ‘get’ it, though. The single, ‘Cloaked’, was better than the frankly boring opening track, but I found myself simply wanting to move on through a lot of this. Don’t get me wrong, I see their appeal: they’re weird and extremely talented. But nothing stood out to me, nothing had me wanting to put it back and listen to it again. Given that these are all done on my opinion alone and I simply found it a confusing, semi-disjointed mess that felt like a less polished Spiritbox, I can’t score this any higher than 4/10. As I said, the talent was there, but it doesn’t do much for me!
AS IT IS: I WENT TO HELL AND BACK
Another band I hadn’t heard before now. Let’s hope they’re better than their cringy song titles and broken caps-lock imply.
It simultaneously both is and isn’t. While the instrumentation is your basic collection of pop-punks best power chords and little else and the lyrics sound like they were written by an ‘edgy’ 13-year-old after their first breakup, it is somehow some of the catchiest shit I have heard in a while. Tracks like ‘IDGAF’ and ‘ILY, HOW ARE YOU?’ have almost immediately become not-so-guilty pleasures of mine. It’s like how Busted should be these days. A band I will definitely be listening to an embarrassing amount in the next few weeks, and I don’t even care. 7.5/10
Jack J Hutchinson: The Hammer Falls
No stranger to our site, Jack‘s album is finally out as of last Friday! I shan’t say much given that we did an in-depth review of the albumhere, but it is definitely good! You’ll have to click the link to find out the score…
Venom Prison: Erebos
And we finally reach the heavy stuff. The Welsh death metal band released their fourth album last Friday and their first new music since 2020. It pulls no punches, being nearly 50-minutes of being repeatedly punched in the face in the best way. If this company has anything, it’s that I like death metal a lot more than I thought I did! ‘Judges of the Underworld’, ‘Nemesis’ and the surprising slower track ‘Pain of Oizys’ were all massive highlights, but honestly the whole album is great. While it may scare some off for obvious reasons, I would highly recommend if you like your heavy music. 8.5/10
Persefone: Metanoia
This was a fucking experience. The only thing I can compare it to is when I listened to Igorrr’s Spirituality And Distortion for the first time. From the opening track into ‘Katabasis’ it is clear the playing ability is on another level, the drums and guitars are incredible. It is also how you do weird/chaotic right. It’s all over the place but it somehow all fits the mood and tone of the album. And it’s HEAVY , which always helps. I’m honestly finding it hard to pick out some highlights as it is all so good and interesting. Even if screaming and the heavy stuff isn’t your thing, try to push past it for this album, I promise you you will be blown away by it all. If nothing else, just check out the three part ‘Anabasis’. 8.5/10
Our final album for this week is a ‘darkened metal’ one. It was pretty much exactly what I was expecting it to be. It’s death metal through and through and was by no means bad. I just simply think I’ve been that spoiled by variety this week that something so straight up didn’t catch my attention as much. Tracks like ‘Unholy Mass’ and ‘Scorched Earth’ are definite highlights, but not a lot left me wanting to go back in for a second listen. 5/10
And there we have it guys, another week of new music down. As always keep up to date on all of our content from our Facebook here and tune in next week for the almighty Slash!
