Hiatus Catch Up Vol. 1

It's been a while hasn't it? Well, there is a ton of things I want to talk about, so how about we go through all the things I missed out on?

Harm's Way – Posthuman

Well this is boring. This is a real 'turn your brain off' kind of metal album. It's kind of sludgy, kind of alt rocky, but with all the personality of a gray slab of rock.

Afgrund – The Dystopian

This is another grind album I were I was hoping for something a little bit more deep but no... it's just another grind album. I guess that's ok, it's what people want from grind albums, so who am I to judge. If you like Pig Destroyer or Gadet, you'll enjoy this.

Mammoth Grinder – Cosmic Crypt

You have one of the best names for your band and album and produced something as bland and soulless as a box of brand cereal.

Treehouse 707 – Quiet

So this is a pretty cool lo fi hip hop album, but it's pretty inconsequential. Lo fi hip hop has little to offer other than the feeling of “i'm lonely and 3 AM”, but I think if some artist came along and gave the genre an overhaul, I think it can really turn heads. Someone tell me about some lo fi hip hop that experiments with some more ambient and psychedelic tones.

Paara – Ritti

So this is a black metal album in a language I do not understand (Swedish?) but boy does the raw emotion break through all language barriers. The cold harsh feelings of loneliness, depression, pain, and loss smash through your ears and punch you right in the gut. The songs are long, yet the well crafted structure keeps them from being the usual over-bearing black metal. Give it a shot, but don't blame me when you feel like a piece of shit after.

Ilsa – Corpse Fortress

Dark, gloomy, cold, and oppressive, this is an album that just sticks you in the gut and doesn't let up. It can certainly be a bit bloated at times, but Corpse Fortress has some of the most vile and heafty riffs you'll find in the blackened doom scene.

Zeke – Hellbender

Wow. I didn't know dad-rock had evolved into dad-crossover-thrash.

Juas Priest – Firepower

I was certainly very harsh on this album when it first came out, but that was only because Judas Priest are (usually) absolute gods at what they do, and this album as a whole is just not up to par with Priest's classic material. Is is good? Yes. Is it even occasionally great? Yes. But Priest can and has done better, and even modern speed metal acts (looking at you, Accept) have done better. That being said, “Firepower” is a fucking killer track and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.

Almond Soy – Social Misfit

This is a real nice, pleasant acoustic rock album. Very emotional, good songwriting, yeah that'll do.

Vortex of Clutter – A Praise to Extinction

Man after all these years, Vortex of Clutter are not only still kicking, but still sound generic as ever. It's honestly kind of amazing how these guys tackle the entire spectrum of the death metal genre and somehow make it all sound boring. I'd rather listen to paint dry. Yeah I know that doesn't make sense.

Earthless – Black Heaven

It took a few listens to really appreciate, but this is easily my favorite of Earthless's output. Usually their records take the form of one or two 20 – 30 minute tracks, with a shorter track tokenly thrown in. These songs usually take the Phish/Sleep approach to songwriting with long solos and drawn out breakdowns. Condensing their sound and producing more catchy and approachable music may disappoint some fans, but I believe it benefits the band more than it hurts it. If you're in the mood for some old school metal (I'm talking when Deep Purple was considered “metal”), you can do a lot worse.

Jack White – Boarding House Reach

You know I was really waiting all year for something to come up and wow me, but I certainly didn't think that Jack White of all people would be the one to do it. A rock album that isn't afraid to mess with hip hop, funk, and all sorts of ambient sounds and tones? Hell yeah, sign me up! Normally this is were I'd say “it's not for everyone” but as experimental rock goes, this is some of the most approachable experimental songwriting you'll hear all year. Give it a shot.

Drunk – Olivine

Sweet, subtle, expressive, heartfelt. All of that and more in the very interesting, and very fun, math rock album from Drunk.

The Garden – Mirror Might Steal Your Charm

Ehhh.... I was real interested in this when I first heard this. This is an album that switches between punk, noise rock, and hip hop between three tracks, and that sounds great, until after that point when the album just runs out of steam and just keeps going. I don't know, if Jack White's new album didn't do it for you, maybe you'll like this more, but I just real tired of it real fast.

Nekrogoblikon – Welcome to Bonkers

I thought I'd be tired of this album by now, but nope. Against all odds, Nekrogoblikon keeps their act from being stale and bland, and produces yet another fantastic release of melo-death goblin goodness.

WRONG – Feel Great

Hey look, it's the best sludge metal album I've heard in the last 5 years. Just enough melody to be approachable, but not soft, WRONG put together one of the most hard hitting, crunchy, noisy, yet rebellious and complex sludge metal records of the day.

A Perfect Cicle – Eat The Elephant

You know people often say “I don't know why people like Tool”. To those people I say, “I don't know why people like A Perfect Circle”. Bland riffs, bland vocals, pretentious lyrics, this album is as appealing as a root canal.

Sleep – The Sciences

It's a shame someone keeps interrupting this pretty good doom metal record with a compilation of “White Noise to Sleep To”.