The deathly doom metal of Swallow the Sun used to be offset with moments of cold beauty and increasingly pop oriented vocal lines, that still managed to feel like a fresh breath visible in the chill air. This has been turned on its head on Shining, a move that in hindsight was well telegraphed over the last two albums the band put out.
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Iotunn – Kinship Review
Access All Worlds, Iotunn’s first full-length release, took the Gator’s top spot back in 2021. While in hindsight, he may choose different these days, Aldará’s vocals are in part the anchor that makes Access All Worlds remarkable to the Gator, as the music leaves a lot of room for him to insert melodrama and meaning to the often grand sounding riffs. But will Kinship remain in kissing favor with our favorite reptilian?
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Unto Others – Never, Neverland Review
Unto Others have put out their third full length effort – Never, Neverland, a title that immediately brings an uneasy connotation by reminding me of Metallica and their self titled album. You could say that it’s a subtle telegraphing of the direction Unto Others have taken with this album, as more than half the songs lean toward the softer side of their style. Here’s hoping they’re just trying out a never groove.
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Leprous – Melodies of Atonement Review
For the better part of a decade, Leprous have become something of a parody of themselves. Increasingly pop-leaning and focusing on Einar Solberg’s voice, the band started to leave behind their once progressive writing somewhere between 2015’s The Congregation and 2017’s Malina. But when Melodies of Atonement arrives with an album cover and preview tracks that carry shades of their early work… well the road to atonement is loOOoooOOoooOooong.
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Evilyn – Mondestrunken Review
How would a painter handle sound? Pretty damn well, it turns out. Mondestunken’s most defining feature is Alex Weber’s bass, a dynamic center-point which leads the songs on a drunken stroll, calling to mind the style of Aseitas or perhaps even the jazzy all out war of Sarmat’s debut album with its technical dissonance. But for all its flash, does it have its own style?
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Aseitas – Eden Trough Review
Experimentation is abundant in the extreme bounds of metal today. While a lot of bands look for something worthwhile by trying odd techniques, it’s easy to lose sight of working on a defining sound, something that makes a band have that special pull divorced from just pure technique. Aseitas had that from the start. But it’s been a long, trough road for them.
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Sumac – The Healer Review
Brian Cook’s bass rumbles intently along in “Yellow Dawn”, Aaron Turner’s howls and screeching guitar solos are caustic, and Nick Yacyshyn’s drums regularly steal the show with powerfully precise hits. Sounds like our alligator is hungry for some SUMAC.
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Pallbearer – Mind Burns Alive Review
The progressive side of Pallbearer is back, yet colored differently by a larger rock-to-metal ratio than before, in favor of the former. This is not the upbeat or punky rock you might expect from post punk or noise rock bands, but rather the arena rock-ballad kind, somewhere between Neil Young and Takida. If you can’t make it big in the USA, might as well be a hit in Sweden!
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Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All……. Review
Metalligator likes A Blaze in the Northern Sky as much as the next reptile or person (Transilvanian who-now?), but with the opinion that Darkthrone albums are always hit or miss, despite their charm, will it really beckon the gator?
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Crypts of the Unknown: Khonsu – The Xun Protectorate
