Do you need a palate cleanser after listening to all that Vortexectomy, Parasitic Ejaculation and Cattle Decapitation? Then I present to you, Laurel Halo, the musician behind Atlas, one of the best ambient records of 2023. “Ugh, ambient” you might say, but don’t be so quick to dismiss this beautiful and apprehensive kaleidoscope of sounds. Take a walk on the mild side.
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Obsidian Tide – The Grand Crescendo Review
I can hear the seeds of Obsidian Tide’s voice forming on The Grand Crescendo. That is not to say that the influences cannot be clearly heard on the album. On the contrary, the soft/heavy dynamic and transitions lean heavily on Opeth still, sometimes even sounding like direct quotes. Prog Monday, anyone?
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Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex Review
What makes much of this material stick is that Steven Wilson is meticulous at sound production and getting a live feel out of the instruments. Mixing this with the Electronic focus of many of these songs makes for some music that operates, production-wise, on a level that is unusual today. Sometimes the future doesn’t bite.
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Shining – SHINING Review
Depressive explorations of death is nothing new for Shining, but there lies a somber feeling over SHINING that is hard to miss: the growing isolation of age and eventual death of everything you know. A shining example of depressive extreme metal.
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Disfiguring The Goddess – The Brutal Machine Review
It is no surprise to me that an album like Disfiguring The Goddess’ newest, The Brutal Machine, has not made waves. The concoction of popular electronic music with Deathcore doesn´t really seem like the thing that the most kvlt among metal elitists would champion, even though it appears similarly extravagant. Time for some brutal reviewer machine.
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Solipnosis – Síntesis Silenciosa Review
The Chilean metal scene is an underrated gem. I’m constantly discovering bands that put a unique spin on genres such as Black Metal, Death Metal, and yes, even Thrash Metal. Solipnosis is one such band, and their take on Blackened Speed/Thrash might be the most out there version I’ve heard yet. The Chilean is out there!
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Cannibal Corpse – Chaos Horrific Review
While most of the band seems to just deliver about the bare minimum, George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher’s minimum is still higher than what most vocalists deliver. Fisher is not the flashiest vocalist and has a certain tone he sticks with, but it is his delivery and phrasing as a kind of master of ceremony that elevates some songs. Enjoyment horrific?
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Ashbringer – We Came Here to Grieve Review
Ashbringer sound like they come from this lineage of music, a Pitchfork-approved style of Post-Black Metal made popular by bands like Deafheaven. But the material on We Came Here to Grieve features a harsher edge than the scrapbooking album cover entails, mainly carried by the vocals. Still not kvlt enough for sunscreen.
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Moonlight Sorcery – Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle Review
Like straight out of a time capsule from the late 1990s or early 2000s, Moonlight Sorcery come bursting onto the scene with their debut album Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle. This could be the band that fans of early Children of Bodom or Wintersun have been looking for over the past 20 years. September keeps on giving *eggplant emoji*.
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Crypts of the Unknown: 2024 Vol. 1
