 |
1.
|
Blighted Eye - Agony's Bespoke
[8.5] - More excellent extreme prog in 2024, a fantastic and exhilarating effort for a debut - fantastic lead guitar work and a riff conveyor belt. |
 |
2.
|
A Swarm Of The Sun - An Empire
[8.5] - The Pyre is fairly awe-inspiring, and this duo's bleak, emotionally heavy post-rock/metal borderline sound is great as ever, despite the hefty album length. |
 |
3.
|
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
[8.5] - The Death Floyd answer to Enslaved's Black Floyd, a great evolution for them. |
 |
4.
|
Anciients - Beyond The Reach Of The Sun
[8.0] - A grower, and a very welcome return from these sludgy prog giants. |
 |
5.
|
Iotunn - Kinship
[8.0] - Strong successor to the debut, Aldara's vocals are the highlight, but there's a good balance of melodicism and extreme metal elements. |
 |
6.
|
Laudare - Requiem
[8.0] - The latest chamber/hardcore/metal fusion, and a very accomplished one at that. |
 |
7.
|
Piah Mater - Under The Shadow Of A Foreign Sun
[8.0] - Very Opethian prog-death, generally very solid. |
 |
8.
|
Ubiquity - The Ascendant Travels Among The Stars
[8.0] - More excellent Opeth worship. |
|
9.
|
Delving - All Paths Diverge
[8.0] - More dreamy Elder-lite goodness from DiSalvo. |
|
10.
|
Kalandra - A Frame Of Mind
[8.0] - Fades out a bit, but some really nice stuff in the first two-thirds. |
 |
11.
|
Schammasch - The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean
[8.0] - An interesting evolution, a bit lighter and more use of clean vocals; not everything hits the mark, but there's a really particular atmosphere that they create that still pulls me in here. |
|
12.
|
Ott - Hiraeth
[8.0] - Good fun vibes to this, like with Heads. |
 |
13.
|
Five The Hierophant - Apeiron
[8.0] - Solid extension of previous album's style. |
 |
14.
|
Lowen - Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran
[8.0] |
 |
15.
|
Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja
[8.0] - Slightly more cacophonic follow-up to Mesterin Kynsi. |
 |
16.
|
Mother Of Graves - The Periapt Of Absence
[8.0] - Really nicely melodic death/doom. |
 |
17.
|
Pincer Consortium - Geminus Schism
[8.0] - Frenetic, varied cacophony of black, death, industrial and other metal styles. |
 |
18.
|
Luck Wont Save You - Through The Mountains Of Melancholia
[8.0] - Cool BTBAM-esque prog-deathcore. |
 |
19.
|
Blindead 23 - Vanishing
[8.0] - Bit heavy on the ambience in the final track, but a great return from half of the Affliction-era Blindead line-up. |
 |
20.
|
Octoploid - Beyond The Aeons
[8.0] - Olli-Pekka Laine resurrects the sound of Elegy-era Amorphis quite sumptuously here. |
 |
21.
|
Assemble The Chariots - Ephemeral Trilogy Episode 1: Unyielding Night
[8.0] - Exuberant symphonic deathcore/melodeath with extravagant arrangements, one of the best albums in the style in the recent years. |
 |
22.
|
A Wake In Providence - I Write To You, My Darling Decay
[8.0] - Very good symphonic deathcore/prog-death with very decent clean vocals. |
 |
23.
|
Untervoid - Parasite
[8.0] - Strong black(ened) metal release with melodic and avant-garde hints. |
 |
24.
|
Papangu - Lampião Rei
[8.0] - Zeuhl metal still sounds great second time around. |
 |
25.
|
Vile Rites - Senescence
[8.0] - Solid prog/techy death with punishing dissonance in the heavier moments. |
 |
26.
|
Eye Eater - Alienate
[8.0] - Post-tinged dissonant blackened death with good riffs and strong atmospherics. |
 |
27.
|
Kanonenfieber - Die Urkatastrophe
[8.0] - No-frills riff frenzy. |
 |
28.
|
Defacement - Duality
[8.0] - Intense, exhilarating dissonant blackened death. |
 |
29.
|
Norna - Norna
[8.0] - Nicely brooding and ominous post-metal. |
 |
30.
|
Devenial Verdict - Blessing Of Despair
[8.0] - Strong dissonance-infused prog death. |
 |
31.
|
Aluk Todolo - Lux
[8.0] - More cool hypnotic trippiness, with a bit more dissonance than e.g. Oranssi Pazuzu. |
 |
32.
|
Officium Triste - Hortus Venenum
[8.0] - Very solid d/d with great melodic lead guitar parts. |
 |
33.
|
Amiensus - Reclamation: Part 2
[8.0] - Strong melodicism and variety; much better than Abreaction and possibly the best since Restoration. |
 |
34.
|
Dreamless Veil - Every Limb Of The Flood
[8.0] - Strong debut from quasi-supergroup playing disso-tinged black/death. |
 |
35.
|
Siderean - Spilling The Astral Chalice
[8.0] - Proggier than Vile Rites, but this is unapologetically (and frequently dissonant) death metal around the progginess. |
 |
36.
|
Other World - Tenebrous
[8.0] - Enjoyable ritualistic slant to parts of this solid black metal album. |
 |
37.
|
Generation Of Vipers - Guilt Shrine
[8.0] - Tasty hardcore-leaning sludge, songs are angry and heavy but still have groove. |
 |
38.
|
Sur Austru - Datura Străhiarelor
[8.0] - More Negura Bunget-esque than I remember their previous efforts being, I'm enjoying this quite a bit. |
 |
39.
|
Akhlys - House Of The Black Geminus
[8.0] - Exquisitely intense and hellish atmosphere, strong use of guitar leads. |
 |
40.
|
Shadow And Claw - Whereabouts Unknown
[8.0] - Blackened and stoner hints in an atmospheric sludge sound, it works really well together. |
 |
41.
|
Pure Reason Revolution - Coming Up To Consciousness
[8.0] - Bit too Porcupine Tree-y for me, and a bit short of the last couple of albums, but still a worthwhile listen. |
 |
42.
|
Wintersun - Time II
[8.0] - Divorced from the drama surrounding its creation, this is a very good epic extreme power album, albeit with less memorable songwriting than the self-titled debut or Iron. |
 |
43.
|
Bloody Valkyria - Kingdom In Fire
[8.0] - Very catchy, epic, satisfying folk/meloblack. |
 |
44.
|
Trelldom - ...By The Shadows...
[8.0] - Quite fascinating black-tinged jazz metal sound. |
 |
45.
|
Black Sites - The Promised Land?
[8.0] - Clearly one of the most interesting new bands at present that falls under the 'heavy metal' umbrella, the progginess and general distinctiveness of the songwriting stand out. |
 |
46.
|
Typhonian - The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond
[8.0] - Well-crafted death metal album with black metal hints and successful ventures into more expansive, progressive and melodic writing near the end of the album. |
 |
47.
|
The Mantle - Violent Cosmic Fortune
[8.0] - Accomplished, compelling prog death album heavy on the prog. |
 |
48.
|
Dungeon Crawl - Maze Controller
[8.0] - Really fun 'symphonic thrash' sound. |
 |
49.
|
Nyktophobia - To The Stars
[8.0] - Typical-sounding but upper-tier Finnish-sounding melodeath from Germany. |
 |
50.
|
In Aphelion - Reaperdawn
[8.0] - Perhaps a smidge hotter than this year's Necrophobic album. |
 |
51.
|
Cold Cell - Age Of Unreason
[7.5] - Solid black metal with a very neat incursion into post-black territory with clean vocals on Meaningless. |
 |
52.
|
The Flight Of Sleipnir - Nature's Cadence
[7.5] - Another impressive effort in genre-blending. |
 |
53.
|
Leprous - Melodies Of Atonement
[7.5] - Somewhere between Malina and Aphelion in heaviness and complexity, finds a good balance of a more metallic edge with the band's recent exploration of electronics and art-pop stylings. |
 |
54.
|
Kozoria - The Source
[7.5] - A few moments that go awry, but the Gojira/Trivium-influenced symphonic alt/prog sound produces some great moments. |
 |
55.
|
Glare Of The Sun - TAL
[7.5] - Typical but very well-crafted post-metal. |
 |
56.
|
Slomosa - Tundra Rock
[7.5] - Very solid stoner rock verging on stoner metal. |
 |
57.
|
Winterfylleth - The Imperious Horizon
[7.5] - Another solid effort from this band with a good baseline level of enjoyment along with occasional great highlights. |
 |
58.
|
Civerous - Maze Envy
[7.5] - Gnarly guitar tone elevates OSDM passages, but more interesting when it goes in blackened and atmospheric directions. |
 |
59.
|
Ingurgitating Oblivion - Ontology Of Nought
[7.5] - Cacophonic, frenzied, oddball death metal; a bit too cacophonic for my liking at times, but the solos are a lot of fun, and the proggier inclinations (see middle of To Weave The Tapestry Of Nought) work well too. |
 |
60.
|
Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All
[7.5] - Pretty fierce and tasty, one of their better ones in a while. |
|
61.
|
Tellmarch - Tellmarch
[7.5] - Brief yet strong mix of doom, sludge, black and core sounds. |
 |
62.
|
God Is An Astronaut - Embers
[7.5] - Classic GIAA, one of their best in a while; title track is a highlight. |
|
63.
|
Sans Froid - Hello, Boil Brain
[7.5] - Quirky but accessible and enjoyable art-rock. |
 |
64.
|
Weather Systems - Ocean Without A Shore
[7.5] - Concerns over Daniel Cavanagh aside, it's a well-written and well-produced album in a similar vein to Weather Systems that shapes up quite favourably to the Anathema records that followed it. |
 |
65.
|
Ensiferum - Winter Storm
[7.5] - Doesn't have the peaks of Thalassic, but it continues a relative revival for the group after the underwhelming 2010s they had. |
|
66.
|
Maitreya (CAN) - Auxesis
[7.5] - Bit thin in places, but overall found it to be a really nice modern prog/djent album with pleasant melodic textures. |
|
67.
|
Stoort Neer - Essensen Av Smärta, Reflektion Och återhämtning
[7.5] - Brief but impactful atmospheric black-tinged hardcore onslaught. |
 |
68.
|
Ceremony Of Silence - Hálios
[7.5] - Chonky dissonant blackened death with nice atmospheric aspects. |
 |
69.
|
Sinistro - Vértice
[7.5] - Cool doomy post-metal with strong vocals and dramatic flair. |
 |
70.
|
Ever Forthright - Techinflux
[7.5] |
 |
71.
|
Favna Abisal - La Casa De Los Siete Espejos
[7.5] - Rather enjoyable proggy genre-fluid stuff with hints of Arcturus and nice melodic sensibilities. |
 |
72.
|
Crimson Veil - Hex
[7.5] - Diverse, well-crafted sound spanning alternative metal with Julie Christmas hints, prog tendencies, and harsher moments, with quite an eerie vibe overall. |
 |
73.
|
Envy - Eunoia
[7.5] - Quite brief, and missing the standout songs that The Fallen Crimson had, but the overall sound is very pleasant. |
 |
74.
|
Post Luctum - Forced To Watch You Wither
[7.5] - Solid, evocative, occasionally dreary melodic death/doom. |
 |
75.
|
Longhouse - III: Nìjwàswe
[7.5] - Solid post-y, sludge, sometimes melodic sound with strong lead guitar work. |
|
76.
|
Emu - Emu
[7.5] - Fun, exciting psych/stoner hard rock debut. |
 |
77.
|
Bile Caster - Writhing Between Birth And Death
[7.5] - Thick and ugly debut EP. |
 |
78.
|
Caffeine - The Threshold
[7.5] - Fun high-energy sludgy album with a bit of a Mastodon-lite vibe. |
|
79.
|
Sugar Horse - The Grand Scheme Of Things
[7.5] - Occasional metallic outbursts, but more shoegaze/space rock/ambient-oriented. |
 |
80.
|
Colmaar - Eternel
[7.5] - Very CoL-esque evolution from When Icarus Falls; it's a shame to see them lose some of their personality, but I also do love this particular sound through association with CoL. |
 |
81.
|
Bent Knee - Twenty Pills Without Water
[7.5] - Nice, varied, fairly gentle prog sound - nothing crazy good, but also manages to avoid any of the annoying moments I've encountered before with Bent Knee. |
|
82.
|
Swampworm - Architeuthis
[7.5] - Evil, dissonant blackened grindcore. |
 |
83.
|
Master Boot Record - Hardwarez
[7.5] - Same as usual, but still very entertaining. |
|
84.
|
Tigran Hamasyan - The Bird Of A Thousand Voices
[7.5] - 90 minutes is too long for me, but the djenty jazz piano style is certainly unique and intriguing. |
 |
85.
|
Concrete Winds - Concrete Winds
[7.5] - Mad, frenzied fusion of death, grind and black metal. |
 |
86.
|
Vestige - Janis
[7.5] - Gazey album, but also one that leans into heavier sounds from post-metal and metalcore. |
 |
87.
|
Groza - Nadir
[7.5] - Solid pivot in a post-black direction. |
 |
88.
|
Kingcrow - Hopium
[7.5] - Bit too emotionless classic prog at times, but also has some very solid writing on several tracks. |
|
89.
|
Mast Year - Point Of View
[7.5] - Compact, crunching sludge/noise rock/hardcore fusion. |
 |
90.
|
Malconfort - Humanism
[7.5] - Black-tinged, jazzy avant-garde metal sound: takes a bit of time to warm up (and the shrieked vocals can be a bit grating), but when it's in its groove, the oddball flow, quirky riffs and unorthodox melody come together rather well. |
 |
91.
|
Munarheim - Heimkehr
[7.5] - Rather enjoyable mix of folk, melodeath, power and symphonic metal. |
 |
92.
|
Grava - The Great White Nothing
[7.5] - Bleak, groovy sludge with atmospheric elements. |
 |
93.
|
Zemeth - Miren
[7.5] - From person behind Bloody Cumshot, not as balls-out insane as that band and not as fond of the J-pop vocal bits, but it's still a lot of fun. |
|
94.
|
The Other Sun - Daimon, Devil, Dawn
[7.5] - Fun mix of occult, western and surf rock. |
|
95.
|
Pohl - Mysteries
[7.5] - Cool sound straddling rock and metal, drawing from noise rock, alt metal, post-punk and arguably stoner, with elements of bands like Helms Alee and Jane's Addiction. |
 |
96.
|
Orden Ogan - The Order Of Fear
[7.5] - Somewhere between Gunman and Final Days, another strong entry from one of power metal's strongest forces at present. |
 |
97.
|
Conjuring - Odium
[7.5] - Another solid melody-heavy black metal release. |
|
98.
|
Run - True Heaviness Is Time
[7.5] - Strong metalcore EP with black and post- elements. |
 |
99.
|
Zørza - Hellven
[7.5] - Solid blackened album with some melodic and post- elements. |
|
100.
|
Meer - Wheels Within Wheels
[7.5] - A mature and well-realized symphonic prog rock sound with modern and pop sensibilities. |
 |
101.
|
Cemetery Skyline - Nordic Gothic
[7.5] - Really nice gentle gothic rock/metal album that carries over hints from the constituent members' main bands. |
|
102.
|
Giant Walker - Silhouettes
[7.5] - Solid heavy alt rock/metal sound with strong lead vocals and good degree of hookiness. |
 |
103.
|
Helevorn - Espectres
[7.5] - Conventional but strong gothic doom. |
|
104.
|
Floating Points - Cascade
[7.5] - Good return to fun ravey music after the orchestral collab. |
 |
105.
|
NightWraith - Divergence
[7.5] - Enjoyable Finnish-style melodeath with some impressive Coloradan guests. |
 |
106.
|
Pyrrhon - Exhaust
[7.5] - Another chaotic onslaught of dissonant madness, found this perhaps marginally more approachable than my previous attempts at listening to them. |
 |
107.
|
Modern Rites - Endless
[7.5] - Faintly melodic black metal with a good aura and high intensity. |
|
108.
|
Vower - Apricity
[7.5] - Solid prog/alt debut EP from band with ex-Palm Reader, Toska and Black Peaks members. |
 |
109.
|
Seth - La France Des Maudits
[7.5] - Generally strong melody-tinged black metal. |
 |
110.
|
Dead Sacraments - The Pale Temple And Others
[7.5] - Enjoyable stoner/sludge-leaning doom. |
 |
111.
|
Apep - Before Whom Evil Trembles
[7.5] - Solid enough Nile worship. |
|
112.
|
i Häxa - Part Three
[7.5] - Nice range from dark ambient electronica to electro-prog rock. |
 |
113.
|
Iress - Now, In Reverse
[7.5] - Nice Chelsea Wolfe-esque gloomy sound with a bit more of a metallic doom slant. |
 |
114.
|
Alvar - Réminiscence
[7.5] - Strong doom debut with some occasional more extreme hints, including faint blackened touches. |
 |
115.
|
Hail Darkness - Death Divine
[7.5] - Solid occult mesh of retro rock, doom and stoner sounds, good vocals and riffs. |
 |
116.
|
State Faults - Children Of The Moon
[7.5] - Solid post-hardcore with great solos and clearly above-average writing. |
 |
117.
|
Hell Is Other People - Moirae
[7.5] - Slightly murkier blackgaze sound, pretty good; final song is strong. |
 |
118.
|
Interloper - A Forgotten Loss
[7.5] - Rather nice, if slightly inconsistent, prog/metalcore/melodeath mix. |
 |
119.
|
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Opera
[7.5] - Bit 'all flair, no substance' to begin with, but grows into itself with some more memorable writing from Morphine Waltz onwards. |
 |
120.
|
Hereisaropegoodluck - Nothing To Write Home About
[7.5] - Best grindcore so far this year, it's hectic but multi-dimensional, with some textures in the mix that go beyond pure savagery and some mathy hints. |
 |
121.
|
Krosis - Infinite Circuitry
[7.5] - I like it in the moments where it goes more Fallujah-ish, like the closing track. |
 |
122.
|
Arkona (POL) - Stella Pandora
[7.5] - Nicely melodic, atmo-leaning black metal. |
 |
123.
|
Decimals - Convergence
[7.5] - Delicate, dreamy instru-djent. |
 |
124.
|
Malevich - Trembling And Dowsed
[7.5] - Not really any grindcore as advertised, but core-tinged sludgy post stuff with an interesting style. |
 |
125.
|
Dawn Treader - Bloom & Decay
[7.5] - Blackgaze with a slight distinct flavour to it, really like the artwork. |
 |
126.
|
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD"
[7.5] |
 |
127.
|
Marche Funèbre - After The Storm
[7.5] - Nice catchy melodic death/doom. |
 |
128.
|
Swamp Coffin - Drowning Glory
[7.5] - Occasionally brings out the hardcore, but is tastiest when unleashing nasty sludge riffs. |
 |
129.
|
Demon Head - Through Holes Shine The Stars
[7.5] - Solid doomy occult rock. |
 |
130.
|
Teeth - The Will Of Hate
[7.5] - Cavernous doomy dissodeath. |
 |
131.
|
Spectral Wound - Songs Of Blood And Mire
[7.5] - This band's still a bit too 'straight raw BM' for my tastes, but songs do have good riffs. |
|
132.
|
Kanaan & Ævestaden - Langt, Langt Vekk
[7.5] - Pleasant folk/prog mesh. |
 |
133.
|
Axamenta - Spires
[7.5] - Long-awaited comeback after Ever-Arch-I-Tech-Ture; I like the symphonic prog melodeath sound reasonably well, gives vibes of Teramaze, Wilderun and a couple of other groups coming together. |
|
134.
|
Occulta Veritas - Irreducible Fear Of The Sublime
[7.5] - Very Voidhanger-esque dissonant black/death. |
 |
135.
|
Void Witch - Horripilating Presence
[7.5] - Feisty, crunching death/doom. |
 |
136.
|
Glacial Tomb - Lightless Expanse
[7.5] - Nasty brutal-leaning sludgy death. |
 |
137.
|
Agrypnie - Erg
[7.5] - Feels more meloblack than blackgazey, it's good enough post-black for sure. |
 |
138.
|
Respire - Hiraeth
[7.5] - The mix of post-hardcore/screamo, indie, blackgaze and some other eclectic sounds is a compelling one overall. |
 |
139.
|
The Blacktones - The Longest Year
[7.5] - Intriguing mesh of alternative, sludge, post- and post-black metal, perhaps slightly leans more towards the former overall, while fluctuating track by track. |
 |
140.
|
The Black Dahlia Murder - Servitude
[7.5] - Very typical TBDM; Trevor left a void that Brian can't fill vocally, but he does well enough to no undermine the solid instrumentals. |
 |
141.
|
Asarhaddon - Êra
[7.5] - Arguably overlong songs, but solid blackgaze/atmo-black. |
 |
142.
|
Vanessa Funke - Void
[7.5] - Quite a lot of variety on this album, from blackgaze to melodeath and sorrowful atmo-black; generally I like the different approaches. |
 |
143.
|
Turin - The Unforgiving Reality In Nothing
[7.5] - Modern death sound with some deathcore, industrial and symphonic elements, and a bit of a Hevy Devy feel to the semi-melodic harsh vocal moments. |
|
144.
|
Copse - MMXXIV
[7.5] - Basically just their EPs repackaged, but a solid blackgaze debut. |
 |
145.
|
Mother Of Millions - Magna Mater
[7.5] - Pleasantly melodic alt/prog stuff. |
 |
146.
|
Föhn - Condescending
[7.5] - Not sure how beneficial the saxophone is overall, but the general gloomy funeral doom writing is above-average and evocative. |
 |
147.
|
Black Lava - The Savage Winds To Wisdom
[7.5] - Pretty solid and engaging blackened death. |
 |
148.
|
Bloodcross - Gravebound
[7.5] - Frenetic, full-pelt meloblack debut with some trad/speed hints. |
 |
149.
|
Uniform - American Standard
[7.5] - Rather enjoy the slow, monolithic nature of the trudging title track. |
 |
150.
|
Vision Divine - Blood And Angels' Tears
[7.5] - Above-average power metal in another underwhelming year for the genre. |
 |
151.
|
Raat - Enchantment
[7.5] - Blackgaze/atmo-black/meloblack with some dreamy and some intense moments. |
 |
152.
|
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flight B741
[7.5] - Fun retro visit to 70s Southern rock. |
|
153.
|
Gargantura - Primary Pulse
[7.5] - Cool Gojira-esque pre-debut EP from groove/prog/death French band. |
 |
154.
|
Heriot - Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell
[7.5] - Mean sludgy hardcore with some brief alt/industrial detours; I can vibe with this a bit more than Malevolence or Code Orange. |
 |
155.
|
Defiled Embrace - The Nether Earth
[7.5] - Fairly solid death/doom with some satisfying riffs and guitar leads. |
 |
156.
|
Oldd Wvrms - Abysséphale
[7.5] - Decent two-long-song instrumental post-metal album with quite a crunchy tone. |
 |
157.
|
Anubis - The Unforgivable
[7.5] - Nice modern melodic prog rock, hints of heavier Dear Hunter in it. |
 |
158.
|
Sidewinder - Talons
[7.5] - Stoner-heavy bluesy heavy rock with good vocals, riffs and writing. |
|
159.
|
Missouri Executive Order 44 - Salt Sermon
[7.5] - Brief, tense, manic mathcore bordering on grindcore/powerviolence. |
 |
160.
|
Cabiria - How Long's The Drive?
[7.5] - Impressive modern addition to the congested instru-post scene. |
 |
161.
|
Blackstaff - The Storyteller
[7.5] - Nasty sludge with occasional leanings towards extremity, although the primitiveness occasionally causes it to drag. |
 |
162.
|
Vuur & Zijde - Boezem
[7.5] - Rather interesting mix of blackened elements with alternative rock styles, it's a fusion that's been done before but this is quite a distinctive example due to the low prominence of black metal. |
 |
163.
|
Dragony - Hic Svnt Dracones
[7.5] - Cheesy but pleasantly catchy. |
 |
164.
|
Mothman And The Thunderbirds - Portal Hopper
[7.5] - Vibrant melodic prog metal with slightly underwhelming vocals holding it back a bit. |
|
165.
|
Aurora (NOR) - What Happened To The Heart?
[7.0] - A bit too stripped-down at times compared with The Gods We Can Touch, and lacking the memorability factor, but still impressively arranged with the harmonizing. |
 |
166.
|
Partholón - The Ocean Pours In
[7.0] - Heavily Cult Of Luna-influenced, but still very enjoyable. |
 |
167.
|
Taur-Im-Duinath - Verso Casa
[7.0] - Conventional but enjoyable atmoblack. |
 |
168.
|
Orme - No Serpents, No Saviours
[7.0] - Gnarly, droning sludge/stoner doom 20-minute single-song EP with a hench production. |
 |
169.
|
Invernoir - Aimin' For Oblivion
[7.0] - Good Peaceville gothic doom metal revivalism. |
 |
170.
|
Krilloan - Return Of The Heralds
[7.0] - It's just power metal, but it's fairly good. |
 |
171.
|
Together To The Stars - The Fragile Silence
[7.0] - Conventional but solid blackgaze. |
|
172.
|
Kosmodome - Ad Undas
[7.0] - Retro-psych/prog rock. |
|
173.
|
Jon Hopkins - Ritual
[7.0] - It's an achingly long ambient build to the album's central climactic minutes, but when those middle tracks arrive, it's just about worth it in terms of payoff. |
 |
174.
|
AK//47 - Menari Dalam Abu Algoritma
[7.0] - Pretty solid grindcore, fairly ballistic but also has some brief lighter post-hardcore moments that expand its pallette. |
 |
175.
|
Earth Ship - Soar
[7.0] - Fun stoner/sludge combo with good riffs and guitar work on both ends of the spectrum. |
|
176.
|
And So I Watch You From Afar - Megafauna
[7.0] - Bit more taken with this one than their previous album, kinda quirky and bouncy with the math rock vibes. |
|
177.
|
Lord Buffalo - Holus Bolus
[7.0] - Bit of a Wovenhand understated Plains folk rock sound. |
 |
178.
|
Krvl - Donkere Paden
[7.0] - Reasonably good post-black effort, nice Sharon Shazzula cameo. |
 |
179.
|
Ophidian Memory - Carrion Lord
[7.0] - Fun thrash/melodeath one-man project. |
 |
180.
|
Dominia - Timeless
[7.0] - Solid but flawed reprise of their Divine Revolution style. |
 |
181.
|
Grendel's Sÿster - Katabasis Into The Abaton / Abstieg In Die Traumkammer
[7.0] - Quite unique-sounding folk-influenced heavy/doom sound. |
 |
182.
|
Admiral Angry - Albania
[7.0] - A chaotic avantgarde mix of grindcore, polyrhythmic grooves, classic thrashing riffs, and a host of disparate sounds. |
 |
183.
|
Fostermother - Echo Manor
[7.0] - Understated stoner rock/metal vibe, vocals are a bit soporific at times but overall feel is enjoyable. |
 |
184.
|
Naisian - Melting Man
[7.0] - Good instrumental post-rock/metal EP. |
|
185.
|
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God
[7.0] - Nick Cave isn't my jam, but I do quite like this quite symphonic, uplifing effort. |
 |
186.
|
Evilyn - Mondestrunken
[7.0] - Discordant, dissonant, cavernous avant-garde death metal; impressive but difficult to engage with. |
 |
187.
|
Kurokuma - Of Amber And Sand
[7.0] - Has good moments still, but fundamentally lacking the character that made the debut so strong. |
 |
188.
|
Kiva - An Elegy Of Scars And Past Reflections
[7.0] - Bleak, brooding post-metal, generally enjoyable but found it slightly lacking in impact. |
|
189.
|
Grid - The World Before Us
[7.0] - Relatively intriguing post-metal sound, has some nice riffs and soundscapes, but also a slight oddness to it at times that doesn't entirely gel. |
 |
190.
|
Mourners Lament - A Grey Farewell
[7.0] - Soporific gothic d/d, nice melodies and uses of keys, a greater presence would have elevated the album a tad. |
 |
191.
|
Hell:On - Shaman
[7.0] - Reasonably solid Dyscarnate-esque modern groovy death sound with some World music elements. |
 |
192.
|
Monument Of Misanthropy - Vile Postmortem Irrumatio
[7.0] - Above-average for brutal death, but is also a bit more dynamic and at-times melodic than usual for the genre. |
 |
193.
|
Atavistia - Inane Ducam (I Will Lead Into Nothingness)
[7.0] - Fine EP, but does feel like a downgrade from Cosmic Warfare. |
 |
194.
|
Conglaciation - Conglaciation
[7.0] - Tech/disso-death that's a bit too busy but quite often fun. |
 |
195.
|
Grimgotts - The Time Of The Wolfrider
[7.0] - Surprisingly endearing and entertaining. |
 |
196.
|
Oxygen Destroyer - Guardian Of The Universe
[7.0] - Vicious balls-to-the-wall death/thrash, well executed. |
 |
197.
|
Wolfheart - Draconian Darkness
[7.0] - Like their previous album, generally decent, has some impressive moments but balanced out by some dry parts. |
 |
198.
|
Nails - Every Bridge Burning
[7.0] - I don't quite understand what makes this band so popular compared to other grindy acts, but it's fine for what it is. |
|
199.
|
Myrdal - Helvíti
[7.0] - Solid black metal EP. |
|
200.
|
Nihilect - Tapestry
[7.0] - Promising debut EP, dissonant and hectic core-leaning tech-death. |
|
201.
|
Fucked Up - Another Day
[7.0] - Indie punk sound, for lack of a better word, quite fun and melodic. |
 |
202.
|
The Otolith - Legends Of The Desert: Volume 4
[7.0] - Good songs from The Otolith, not quite as keen on Eagle Twin's contributions. |
 |
203.
|
Blitzkrieg - Blitzkrieg
[7.0] - Couple of duffer songs, but overall some very decent classic heavy metal. |
 |
204.
|
Mountaineer - Dawn And All That Follows
[7.0] - Now fully into heavy shoegaze territory; the couple of harsh vocal moments seem a bit unnecessary but otherwise a pleasant listen. |
|
205.
|
Eldrvak - Shadows And Ash
[7.0] - Dainty soundtracky folk stuff, but a tad lightweight in terms of memorable and impactful material. |
 |
206.
|
Keitzer - Pandemonium Humanitas
[7.0] - Crunchy, at times technical death metal with teeth. |
 |
207.
|
Wormwitch - Wormwitch
[7.0] - Crusty black metal with faint melodic elements. |
 |
208.
|
Deadscape - State Of Decline
[7.0] - General decent and mostly enjoyable melodeath with some very tasty lead guitar stuff (particularly near end of album), but not sold on some of the clean vocal parts. |
 |
209.
|
Delta - Gemini
[7.0] - Reasonably good prog with solid vocals. |
 |
210.
|
Al-Namrood - Al Aqrab
[7.0] - Quite sinister-sounding Arabian black metal. |
 |
211.
|
Charlotte Wessels - The Obsession
[7.0] - Not spectacular, but catchy, pleasant and at-times quite touching. |
|
212.
|
Pergamo - Altar
[7.0] - Full-on Amenra/CoL worship, too similar to stand on its own but still very enjoyable to listen to (sans some roughness with the vocals). |
 |
213.
|
Sylosis - The Path
[7.0] |
 |
214.
|
Galneryus - The Stars Will Light The Way
[7.0] - Not too shabby power metal, got some zest to it. |
|
215.
|
New Money - Dinero Nuevo
[7.0] - Nasty sludge-core debut EP from ex-LLNN guitarist/vocalist. |
 |
216.
|
Vanhelgd - Atropos Doctrina
[7.0] - Decent death metal with doom and black elements. |
 |
217.
|
Arx Atrata - A Reckoning
[7.0] - Atmospheric meloblack with nice melodies and evocative vibes. |
 |
218.
|
The Archaic Epidemic - Infinite Exile
[7.0] - Slam-tinged, blast-heavy deathcore, but surprisingly likeable and textured. |
|
219.
|
FØES - Endless Exile
[7.0] - Slightly grindy hardcore, lots of venom and distorted rage. |
 |
220.
|
Oceans Of Slumber - Where Gods Fear To Speak
[7.0] |
 |
221.
|
Öxxö Xööx - + (The Opening Of The Hypercube)
[7.0] - Quirky, theatrical and elaborate, but not chaotic; it's not a sound I can enjoy for nearly 80 minutes straight. |
 |
222.
|
Oneiros - Ruminations
[7.0] - Fine melo/atmo-black. |
 |
223.
|
Blind Monarch - The Dead Replenish The Earth
[7.0] - Grim sludge death/doom, slightly one-dimensional. |
 |
224.
|
Jade - The Sempiternal Wound
[7.0] - Jade songs are very good, Sanctuarium ones are pretty bad. |
|
225.
|
Occult Witches - Sorrow's Pyre
[7.0] - Fun retro occult rock with a stoner rock edge. |
|
226.
|
Born In The Purple - Purple-Born
[7.0] - Good-quality debut melodeath EP. |
 |
227.
|
Exosphere - Autonomy
[7.0] - Interesting off-kilter sludge sound with some melodic/clean vocal bits alongside dissonant chords and trudges, just doesn't quite all work together for me. |
 |
228.
|
Visions Of Atlantis - Pirates II - Armada
[7.0] - Solid enough and suitably bombastic symphonic metal album, although I'm just not that into the songs. |
 |
229.
|
Kryptos - Decimator
[7.0] - Solid speed metal-leaning classic heavy sound with strong riffs and solos. |
 |
230.
|
Forgotten Tomb - Nightfloating
[7.0] |
 |
231.
|
Dark Tranquillity - Endtime Signals
[7.0] - DT are clearly better than this, but based on the last 15 years of gradual regression, it's hard to expect too much better going forward. |
 |
232.
|
Mayhemic - Toba
[7.0] - Reasonably fun, frenetic thrash. |
|
233.
|
De Mannen Broeders - Sober Maal
[7.0] - Basically CHVE material but with spoken word and not quite as powerfully atmospheric. |
 |
234.
|
Undeath - More Insane
[7.0] - Reasonably good OSDM. |
 |
235.
|
Endonomos - Endomonos II - Enlightenment
[7.0] - Bit plodding, but generally interesting doom sound. |
 |
236.
|
Glacier (USA-BO) - A Distant, Violent Shudder
[7.0] - Fairly solid and heavy instrumental post-metal, but a bit too long to remain consistently engaging. |
 |
237.
|
The Gates - ...Of The River Styx
[7.0] - Fairly fun gothicky occult rock with blackened vocals. |
 |
238.
|
Scald - Ancient Doom Metal
[7.0] - Classic-sounding epic doom. |
 |
239.
|
Saturn's Husk - Hourglass Of Human Ash
[7.0] - Decent post-y stuff with occasional stoner/psychedelic elements. |
 |
240.
|
Liminal Shroud - Visions Of Collapse
[7.0] - Still a decent effort from the band, but I found it a bit less engaging their 2022 album - perhaps a bit OTT with the blasting. |
 |
241.
|
Thousand Limbs - The Aurochs
[7.0] - Respectable instrumental-only post-metal. |
 |
242.
|
Tantrum - No Place For The Damned
[7.0] - Surprisingly enjoyable trad heavy with solid vocals and riffs, albeit the occasional bland song. |
 |
243.
|
Lunage - Tales From The Forgotten Lands
[7.0] - Pleasant Ensiferum-lite power metal-oriented folk metal. |
 |
244.
|
Odious - Equilibrium Tool
[7.0] - Arabian symphonic metal, bit of a Septicflesh feel. |
 |
245.
|
Adorior - Bleed On My Teeth
[7.0] - Relentless lo-fi first wave black/thrash/death evilness. |
 |
246.
|
HammerFall - Avenge The Fallen
[7.0] - Bit ballad-heavy, some run-of-the-mill tracks, but some decent PM efforts. |
|
247.
|
Berenice - Berenice
[7.0] - Brutal grind debut EP. |
 |
248.
|
Eldamar - Astral Journeys Pt. I: Creation
[7.0] - Dreamy ambient atmo-black. |
|
249.
|
I Ya Toyah - Drama
[7.0] - Generally fun and catchy electronic pop/rock album. |
 |
250.
|
Torrefy - Necronomisongs
[7.0] - Rather decent black/thrash. |
|
251.
|
Daedalia - Dream Of A Manikin
[7.0] - Oddball psych black metal EP. |
 |
252.
|
Scarcity - The Promise Of Rain
[7.0] - Cacophonic, freeform discordance: I appreciate aspects of the approach, although it can get a bit fatiguing to listen to. |
 |
253.
|
Gormoth - Mesél A Táj
[7.0] - Dainty ambient BM. |
 |
254.
|
40 Watt Sun - Little Weight
[7.0] - Bit more up my street than the last effort. |
 |
255.
|
Harvestman - Triptych: Part Two
[7.0] - Folk-tinged ambience, above-average for ambient music. |
|
256.
|
Feind - Ambulante Hirnamputation
[7.0] - 15-minute rampage through 17 grindcore songs, has a bit of personality and fun to it amidst the onslaught. |
|
257.
|
Smashing Pumpkins - Aghori Mhori Mei
[7.0] - Reasonably good effort for this band in 2024. |
 |
258.
|
Zetra - Zetra
[7.0] - Reasonably good kinda gazey, slightly gothicky, sorta heavy sound. |
|
259.
|
The Radicant - We Ascend
[7.0] - Interesting first taste of Vincent Cavanaugh's new project, quite electronics-focused. |
|
260.
|
Luca - Azelea
[7.0] - Pleasant instru-prog/djent debut EP in the Sithu Aye vein. |
 |
261.
|
Uttertomb - Nebulas Of Self-Desecration
[7.0] - Bleak, murky, abhorrent death metal; some of it I find a bit unengaging, but a couple of tracks with some Nile-ish 'melodic' moments and bleak atmospheres sound cool. |
 |
262.
|
Korrosive - Katastrophic Creation
[7.0] - Would benefit from going a bit more hyperthrash or leaning more into the death metal rather than throwing out the 'flat thrash' riffs it's prone to, but reasonably good. |
|
263.
|
Tenebrae Annex - Conditioning
[7.0] - Creepy industrial electronica. |
 |
264.
|
Votive - Towards The Pillory
[7.0] - Decent, directly intense screamo. |
 |
265.
|
Krallice - Inorganic Rites
[7.0] - The horror synths add an interesting dynamic to the music, which on the whole I struggle a bit to engage with. |
|
266.
|
Brian Gibson - Thrasher
[6.5] - Bit too scattered stylistically, but some good entrants from techno, IDM and other electronic styles. |
 |
267.
|
Endless Chain - Agony
[6.5] - Reasonable goth/alt/melodeath mesh, dragged down slightly for me by the cheesier alt-metal elements. |
 |
268.
|
Summoning The Lich - Under The Reviled Throne
[6.5] - B-side TBDM - fine, but lacking the same memorability of TBDM on form. |
 |
269.
|
Erronaut - The Space Inbetween
[6.5] - Fairly typical doomy stoner with some slightly tougher moments; has moments where it shines a bit above average. |
 |
270.
|
Nightwish - Yesterwynde
[6.5] - Less so than the last album, but still a bit bloated and boring. |
 |
271.
|
Bríi - Camaradagem Póstuma
[6.5] - Some nice sounds, but a bit directionless and impactless compared with previous releases. |
|
272.
|
Kwakisurpiniku - Nowhere Songs
[6.5] - Diverse, oddball mathcore/grindcore, includes things from a few different genres; bit hit and miss, but quite appealing when on song. |
 |
273.
|
Chat Pile - Cool World
[6.5] - Not sure I'm ever going to like this band. |
 |
274.
|
Ice Ages - Parasiting Dreams
[6.5] - Overlong but quite enjoyable darkwave. |
 |
275.
|
Obsidian Mantra - As We All Will
[6.5] - Reasonably good groove death metal. |
 |
276.
|
Blue Heron - Everything Fades
[6.5] - Decent but slightly unremarkable sludge-lite. |
 |
277.
|
Drom - Pustina
[6.5] - Perfectly fine but slightly forgettable post-metal. |
 |
278.
|
Oceano - Living Chaos
[6.5] - Nothing great, but some tasty parts to this deathcore. |
|
279.
|
Cäbränegrä - Karoshi
[6.5] - Decent grindcore with a nice oddball edge. |
 |
280.
|
Cyborg Octopus - Bottom Feeder
[6.5] - More prog-metalcore, this time around a bit djentier; it has some more cool ideas, but less standout moments and the vocals (particularly harsh) are quite grating. |
 |
281.
|
Phantom Hound - From Boom Town To Ghost Town
[6.5] - Decent desert rock/stoner metal album that does the basics well without going much beyond this. |
 |
282.
|
Houkago Grind Time - Koncertos Of Kawaiiness: Stealing Jon Chang's Ideas, A Book By Andrew Lee
[6.5] - Frenetic tongue-in-cheek grind, decent but insufficient variety to remain interesting across 18 tracks. |
|
283.
|
Culled - Psycles
[6.5] - Moderately interesting grindy sludge EP. |
 |
284.
|
Isle Of The Cross - Faustus: The Musical
[6.5] - Ambitious symphonic prog concept album, has some satisfyingly soaring power metallic parts, also has a few iffy tracks and parts. |
 |
285.
|
Powerwolf - Wake Up The Wicked
[6.5] - Some decent catchy tracks here, some underwhelming cheesy ones too. |
 |
286.
|
Lamašhtu - Längtan
[6.5] - Symphonic prog that has elements I appreciate, but I must confess I find it leaves me feeling dry too often for my liking. |
|
287.
|
Leila Abdul-Rauf - Calls From A Seething Edge
[6.5] - Airy, ethereal ambient stuff. |
 |
288.
|
Simone Simons - Vermillion
[6.5] - Very Ayreon-esque, but more enjoyable than the last couple of Ayreon albums at least. |
 |
289.
|
Wind Rose - Trollslayer
[6.5] - Perfectly listenable but overly cheesy and unremarkable power/folk metal. |
 |
290.
|
Orpheus Omega - Emberglow
[6.5] - Slightly above-average melodeath of a metalcore persuasion; not huge on the clean choruses. |
 |
291.
|
A Night In Texas - Digital Apocalypse
[6.5] - Slightly above-average deathcore, not overly memorable. |
 |
292.
|
Act Of Creation - Moments To Remain
[6.5] - Generally decent Arch Enemy-esque material. |
 |
293.
|
Korpituli - Pohjola
[6.5] - Kinda fine folk stuff, didn't notice anything especially noteworthy about it. |
|
294.
|
Myles Kennedy - The Art Of Letting Go
[6.5] - Listenable but forgettable rock. |
 |
295.
|
Doedsmaghird - Omniverse Consciousness
[6.5] - Quite irritating, lots of wackiness but low on entertainment. |
 |
296.
|
Flotsam And Jetsam - I Am The Weapon
[6.5] - Perfectly competent, almost a bit power metally at times, but overall slightly dull. |
 |
297.
|
Phaëthon - Wielder Of The Steel
[6.5] - Good trad heavy instrumentation undermined by the 'epic' vocal style. |
|
298.
|
I, Cursed - Death Holograms
[6.5] - Brief furious deathgrind onslaught from duo better known for post-metal. |
 |
299.
|
Deceased - Children Of The Morgue
[6.5] - Deathly thrash with a trad heavy edge, it's fine but nothing too exciting. |
 |
300.
|
Nuclear Tomb - Terror Labyrinthian
[6.5] - Reasonably decent techy death-thrash. |
|
301.
|
Detach The Islands - A Highly Magnified History
[6.5] - Reasonably good mathy, posty hardcore with positive moments but also some underwhelming or tedious moments. |
 |
302.
|
K.Y.M.I. - Liha
[6.5] - Moderately enjoyable deathcore/grind outing. |
 |
303.
|
Ashtar - The Return Of The Frozen Souls
[6.5] - Unremarkable black/doom stuff. |
 |
304.
|
Circle Of Sighs - Ursus
[6.5] - Wacky and erratic EP but at times quite interesting. |
 |
305.
|
Sick/Tired - Whip Hand Paranoia
[6.5] - Straight grindcore aggression, reasonably satisfying for such a straight-nosed approach. |
 |
306.
|
Black Capricorn - Sacrifice Darkness And ... Fire
[6.5] - Initially starts off with an above-average ominous atmosphere for stoner doom, but regresses a bit after that point. |
 |
307.
|
Duel - Breakfast With Death
[6.5] - Stonerish, rambunctuous heavy rock, decent fun without being particularly noteworthy. |
 |
308.
|
Unto Others - Never, Neverland
[6.0] - Some good stuff, but too over the shop and some tracks really not for me. |
 |
309.
|
High Parasite - Forever We Burn
[6.0] - The more gothic tracks and moments are fine, the more metallic portions (e.g. My Syndrome) are a bit tedious and the raspy vocals are really not doing it for me. |
 |
310.
|
Zeal & Ardor - Greif
[6.0] - Kudos for continuing to try and innovate their sound, but I found this a bit boring on first listen. |
 |
311.
|
Death Racer - From Gravel To Grave
[6.0] - Lots of raw blackened thrash energy, a bit primitive and limited though. |
 |
312.
|
Eremit - Rise Of The Ruan~Angh
[6.0] - An Eremit song with subpar production that isn't truly heavy is just a bit pointless, and the first track in particular suffers from this. |
 |
313.
|
Sickrecy - Sickrecy / SlothPhantomMoth [Split]
[6.0] - Just 5-10 min of pretty decent grindcore. |
 |
314.
|
Satan - Songs In Crimson
[6.0] - Boring, dead NWOBHM. |
 |
315.
|
Fulci - Duck Face Killings
[6.0] - A band/album I don't really understand the hype for, it just brings together brutal death and OSDM in a way that doesn't improve either. |
|
316.
|
Alleviate - DMNS
[6.0] - Competent but somewhat bland djent metal/deathcore. |
 |
317.
|
Valkiria - Embrace The End
[6.0] - Overlong album; at its best when it sounds close to modern-day Katatonia, some of the more baritone gothic bits are a bit lacklustre. |
 |
318.
|
Anna Pest - You And Me At The End Of The Fucking World
[6.0] - The technical, djenty, extreme slant of this metal/deathcore is generally pretty good but not great; not convinced by some of the dabblings with e.g. turn-of-the-millennium catchy clean choruses. |
|
319.
|
In Hearts Wake - Incarnation
[6.0] - Metalcore with good moments but cheesy electronics. |
 |
320.
|
Wormed - Omegon
[6.0] - Better than some brutal death, still too close to brutal death for my tastes. |
 |
321.
|
Against Evil - Give 'Em Hell
[6.0] - Some fun riffs on here for the genre, unfortunately the vocals aren't great and the choruses don't land. |
 |
322.
|
Within The Ruins - Phenomena II
[5.5] - Found this a bit tedious and boring despite some good moments. |
 |
323.
|
Dampf - No Angels Alive
[5.5] - Amaranthe-lite, better than their worst but worse than their best, and with a couple of oddball songs such as a folk shanty venture. |
|
324.
|
Trollcave / Putridarium - Swallowed By Rottenness
[5.5] - Boring lo-fi OSDM. |
 |
325.
|
Gravemind - Introsphere
[5.5] - Listenable enough, but a fairly effective microcosm of the more tedious trends in the current x-core scenes. |
 |
326.
|
Mushroomhead - Call The Devil
[5.5] - Rather bland, but not inherently bad, alt metal. |
 |
327.
|
Blues Pills - Birthday
[5.5] - Competent but boring retro rock. |
 |
328.
|
Allt - From The New World
[5.0] - Wet djent-lite metalcore, letdown from the previous EP. |
 |
329.
|
Ad Infinitum - Abyss
[5.0] - It took 3 albums, but they've finally got rid of everything that made the debut worth listening. There's still decent songs or elements, but on the whole this is pop-metal tedium. |
 |
330.
|
Warm Gadget - Sorrows
[5.0] - Boring writing and bad vocals. |
