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1.
|
Enslaved - Utgard
[9.0] - Enslaved undergo arguably their greatest stylistic shift in a decade and put out something that feels new for them whilst still retaining all that makes them great. |
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2.
|
Wills Dissolve - Echoes
[9.0] - Hugely enjoyable extreme prog song-album odyssey. |
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3.
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Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence
[8.8] - Another excellent atmos-black record from possibly my favourite currently active atmos-black band. |
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4.
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Aversio Humanitatis - Behold The Silent Dwellers
[8.6] - I hear a lot of Schammasch in their sound, as well as a decent amount of Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, and anyone who knows my tastes will know that that is by no means a bad thing. |
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5.
|
Lucid Planet - Lucid Planet II
[8.6] - Vibrant prog effort, bringing a myriad of influences without sounding eclectic, just super enjoyable. |
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6.
|
Neptunian Maximalism - Éons
[8.5] - Who knew one day I would be this captivated by psychedelic drone jazz? Despite the colossal length, this is pretty spectacular. |
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7.
|
Pull Down The Sun - Of Valleys And Mountains
[8.4] - Really fine prog/metalcore/post/+ album with The Ocean and Gojira vibes. |
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8.
|
Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata
[8.4] - Dark, atmospheric, psychedelic delight. |
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9.
|
The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic
[8.4] - Missing both the consistent excellence and peak brilliance (The Great Dying) of part 1, but still one of the strongest releases this year, even if Psychonaut did kinda beat them. |
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10.
|
Wake - Confluence
[8.3] - Second great release this year from Wake, really good use of post-rock amidst the death metal on this EP. |
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11.
|
Thurisaz - Re-Incentive
[8.3] - Quality atmospheric progressive meloblack, with a variety of approaches and plenty of evocative feels in the music. |
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12.
|
Motorpsycho - The All Is One
[8.3] - Pretty excellent prog rock album, has a lot of classic elements (particularly Yes), but in a modern setting - the long song Night Of Pan is incredible, particularly with its very extended percussive build-up in its second half. |
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13.
|
Gaerea - Limbo
[8.3] - Successful follow-up to their hyped debut, with some nice melancholic melodic stuff amidst the rest of the black metal. |
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14.
|
Pothamus - Raya
[8.3] - Atmospheric, tribal-influenced post-metal, really top stuff. |
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15.
|
Dvne - Omega Severer
[8.3] - Quality duo of tracks from a quality band; hope more is coming soon. |
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16.
|
Jaga Jazzist - Pyramid
[8.3] - Really enjoyable psychedelic/progressive/space rock/jazz fusion sound, with four luscious and rewarding long tracks to get stuck into. |
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17.
|
Kaatayra - Só Quem Viu O Relâmpago À Sua Direita Sabe
[8.2] - Black metal on acoustic guitars, elevated further by the use of Brazilian folk music and percussion, really captivating release. |
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18.
|
Nug - Alter Ego
[8.2] - Quality post-metal debut full-length, with influence from The Ocean but also a solid djent side to their sound. |
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19.
|
Pain Of Salvation - Panther
[8.2] - The electronics have taken more of a central role in a major reinvention from the sound of ITPLOD, but unsurprisingly the band pull off another sonic shift with aplomb. |
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20.
|
Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods
[8.2] - This is what I want from a Lunatic Soul album, thanks Mariusz. |
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21.
|
Kalandra - The Line
[8.2] - Really lovely neofolk/chamber pop/alt effort from Norway. |
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22.
|
Trees Speak - Ohms
[8.2] - Thoroughly enjoyable electronic/Krautrock instrumental album. |
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23.
|
Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment
[8.2] - Frantic yet super-melodic, this is huge fun. |
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24.
|
Névoa - Towards Belief
[8.2] - Very interesting shift in sound towards a jazzier and more psychedelic approach, they pull it off with aplomb. |
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25.
|
Green Druid - At The Maw Of Ruin
[8.2] - Really great stoner doom album. |
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26.
|
Onségen Ensemble - Fear
[8.2] - More awesome psychedelic rock/metal from Finland this year, this is really swell. |
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27.
|
Panzerfaust - The Suns Of Perdition - Chapter II: Render Unto Eden
[8.2] - Richly atmospheric post-metal-heavy black metal record. |
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28.
|
Samsara Blues Experiment - End Of Forever
[8.2] - Had almost missed that this was released; not quite as good as One With The Universe on first listens but another enjoyable psychedelic/stoner jam trip. |
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29.
|
Vous Autres - Sel De Pierre
[8.2] - More industrial black sludge goodness from these Frenchies. |
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30.
|
Rival Consoles - Articulation
[8.2] - Really enjoyable downtempo electronic record that really shines in its subtler first half. |
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31.
|
Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator Of God
[8.2] - Diverse range of alt rock, metal, synthpop and more; really enjoyable throughout. |
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32.
|
Akhlys - Melinoë
[8.2] - Evil as fuck black metal album. |
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33.
|
Keleketla! - Keleketla!
[8.2] - Really enjoyable multinational collaboration, with elements of Afrobeat, jazz, electronica, soul, hip-hop and more within an engrossing package. |
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34.
|
Decoherence - Unitarity
[8.2] - Excellent industrial black metal record with some sensational moments (including the outro to Equilibrium Unreached). |
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35.
|
The Reticent - The Oubliette
[8.2] - Strong follow-up to the emotional wrecking ball that was On The Eve Of A Goodbye, this time focused on the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease. |
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36.
|
Aviations - Retrospect
[8.2] - EP featuring re-recordings of earlier songs, these guys make lovely music - looking forward to their next full-length in 2021. |
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37.
|
Protest The Hero - Fabula & Syuzhet
[8.2] - Two quality tracks that missed the cut of a quality album; probably would have had at least Duelling Cavalier on Palimpsest ahead of a couple that made that record. |
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38.
|
Fren - Where Do You Want Ghosts to Reside
[8.2] - Very nice prog rock album with emotional peaks, whether via the jazz piano on Pleonasm or Pink Floyd-esque ending to Heavy Matter. |
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39.
|
Khors - Where The Word Acquires Eternity
[8.2] - Really nice meloblack, with some really nice guitar solos, hooky riffs and decent use of keyboards in the background. |
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40.
|
Throane - Une Balle Dans Le Pied
[8.2] - Top-notch industrial BM song. |
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41.
|
Greg Foat - Symphonie Pacifique
[8.2] - A pretty excellent follow-up to last year's The Mage; a couple of horrible sax solos aren't ideal, but the chillout vibe of a lot of it, particularly towards the end of the record, is serene. |
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42.
|
Luna's Call - Void
[8.2] - Really solid extreme prog effort with crunch and quirks. |
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43.
|
Calyces - Impulse To Soar
[8.1] - Really good Intronaut-influenced sound on this debut. |
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44.
|
Avandra - Skylighting
[8.1] - Nice follow-up to Descender, I like the vocals a lot. |
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45.
|
Kevel - Mutatis Mutandis
[8.1] - Strong mixture of post-metal, sludge, prog and even ventures into black metal and other territories, all brought together well. |
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46.
|
Ozric Tentacles - Space For The Earth
[8.1] - Highly enjoyable psychedelic rock effort with sonic overlap with psybient. |
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47.
|
Rïcïnn - Nereïd
[8.1] - Densely atmospheric art pop/neoclassical darkwave band comprised of French metal musicians. |
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48.
|
Autonoesis - Autonoesis
[8.1] - Really impressive combination of thrash alongside aspects of black and death, plus the odd 80s Arena rock or prog moment; the solos rule hard. |
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49.
|
Cloudkicker - Solitude
[8.1] - Quite gnarly earlier on, but has some really lovely stuff later on, e.g. Off His Way. |
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50.
|
Raven Throne - Viartańnie
[8.1] - Some really effective Infestus-esque atmosblack that also gets good use out of electronics. |
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51.
|
Backxwash - God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It
[8.1] - A brief but intense experience, the pulsating bass beats give a sinister menace to most of these songs, which is amplified on the tracks with distorted vocals. The Black Sabbath samples and Faith No More-esque vocals on Spells probably also help this hip-hop record resonate with me, but even without them this would be a compelling listen. |
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52.
|
Prison Of Mirrors - De Ritualibus Et Sacrificiis Ad Serviendum Abysso
[8.1] - Ripping black metal, quality riffs and big sound, managing to keep long songs (one runs beyond 20 minutes) consistently gripping. |
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53.
|
Judicator - Let There Be Nothing
[8.1] - Credit it where it's due, there's not many power metal albums that I truly enjoy when listening to, but this Blind Guardian-inspired US power metal band put out another great album with great Hansi-style vocal harmonies. |
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54.
|
Airbag - A Day At The Beach
[8.1] - Another quality prog rock album, at times leans towards Porcupine Tree, other times towards the Steve Rothery solo album from a few years ago. |
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55.
|
Manticora - To Live To Kill To Live
[8.1] - Quality prog/power release with memorable riffs, soaring vocals and compelling song structures. Takes hints from heavier genres (e.g. melodeath) in some riffs, without ever spilling over into extremity. |
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56.
|
Fires In The Distance - Echoes From Deep November
[8.1] - Very enjoyable melodeath/doom sound, with infectious synths and guitar melodies. |
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57.
|
Kall - Brand
[8.1] - I've seen Kall labeled as 'black n' roll' in one or two places; maybe 5% of their sound on certain tracks could be that, but it's drowned under psychedelia, jazz and more, particularly in the more convoluted compositions that comprise the second half of the tracklist. |
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58.
|
Synovial - Song Of Silver
[8.1] - Really good proggy metalcore, with twisting songs, good vocal hooks and strong musicianship. |
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59.
|
Kraken Duumvirate - The Stars Below, The Seas Above
[8.1] - Great use of electronics on this funeral doom record. |
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60.
|
Yashira - Fail To Be
[8.1] - Solid post-y hardcore-y sludge, ranges between murky bruisers and more mathcore efforts (Shards Of Heaven); the track with Dylan Walker is great. |
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61.
|
Kaunis Kuolematon - Syttyköön Toinen Aurinko
[8.1] - Thoroughly likeable melodeath/doom. |
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62.
|
Fleshvessel - Bile Of Man Reborn
[8.1] - Extreme prog song-album with the emphasis on extreme, interesting counterpart this year to Wills Dissolve. |
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63.
|
Dahlian - Moonlit
[8.1] - Impressive and ambitious progressive death debut album with a bunch of lengthy tracks that owe some debt to Opeth without being excessively similar. |
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64.
|
〇 - Entity
[8.1] - Strong depressive black metal with good use of clean vocals and effective guitar work. |
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65.
|
GoGo Penguin - GoGo Penguin
[8.1] - Really satisfying smooth piano-driven jazz record. |
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66.
|
Skáphe - Skáphe³
[8.1] - What a redemption story considering how much I hated Skaphe2; it has dissonance and fury, but also some nice atmospheric inclinations. |
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67.
|
DGM - Tragic Separation
[8.1] - SymX/Pagan's Mind-esque, 80's-influenced prog - melodic and moving. |
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68.
|
Necrophobic - Dawn Of The Damned
[8.1] - The Infernal Depths Of Eternity is a cracker of a track. |
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69.
|
Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota
[8.1] - Very fun black/pagan release; goes pretty hard on the black metal side but manages to get plenty of pagan-style melody in there. Just a very fun listen. |
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70.
|
Aseitas - False Peace
[8.1] - Positively vulgar mixture of death and sludge, with frantic intensity, cavernous grime, abrasive noise, and occasional moments of atmosphere and levity. Very impressive, albeit a bit overlong for this type of oppressive sound. |
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71.
|
Montaña Sagrada - The Living Green
[8.1] - Very impressive debut from this Chilean project featuring ex-members of projects such as Mar De Grises, compelling mix of death metal with atmospheric, occasional symphonic and other elements. |
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72.
|
Wren - Groundswells
[8.0] - At the sludgier end of the post-metal spectrum, with some fairly bludgeoning moments, but also some nice atmospheric stretches too. |
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73.
|
Pg.lost - Oscillate
[8.0] - Very enjoyable and well-written post-rock. |
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74.
|
Angellore - Rien Ne Devait Mourir
[8.0] - Very good Gothic doom album starting off with a fantastic epic of an opening track. |
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75.
|
Einvigi - Sielulintu
[8.0] - One of the more evocative and atmospheric blackgaze efforts from this year. |
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76.
|
Umbilicus Necis - Confine Astratto
[8.0] - Really good post-black, lots of aggression but nice atmospheres and occasional lulls. |
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77.
|
Draconian - Under A Godless Veil
[8.0] - Another solid effort from these Gothic doom pros. |
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78.
|
Light Field Reverie - Another World
[8.0] - More good doom from Heike Langhans this year. |
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79.
|
Spook The Horses - Empty Body
[8.0] - And another good one, perhaps a bit sludgier and techier, but sounds similarly great. |
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80.
|
John Haughm - 1865 // 1895: Cast.Iron.Blood.
[8.0] - Definitely more enjoyable that previous JH solo stuff. |
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81.
|
Frostnatt - Når Vinteren Kommer
[8.0] - Thoroughly enjoyable atmos-black EP. |
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82.
|
Power Plant - Cargo
[8.0] - Nice heavy, space-y stoner rock effort. |
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83.
|
Déluge - Ægo Templo
[8.0] - Fine effort in the post-black/post-hardcore/blackgaze sphere. |
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84.
|
Katla. - Allt Þetta Helvítis Myrkur
[8.0] - Dark, heavy and effective black-tinged post-metal. |
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85.
|
Crystal Lake - The Voyages
[8.0] - Definitely the best melodic metalcore album from this year that I can remember. |
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86.
|
Déhà - A Fleur De Peau - I - There Is No Home
[8.0] - Well-constructed melancholic doom song-album. |
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87.
|
Stories From The Lost - Alternate Endings
[8.0] - Nice post-metal with some cool electronics and gothic hints. |
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88.
|
Ikarass - Relapse Into Desolation
[8.0] - Classic loud/heavy Amenra-style sludgy post, sounds sick. |
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89.
|
Well Of Night - The Lower Planes Of Self-Abstraction
[8.0] - Mid-tempo, imposing black metal. |
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90.
|
Wintaar - There Is No God In War
[8.0] - Effective combination of different black metal styles, particularly those more melodic ones, that really comes into its own as the album progresses. |
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91.
|
Atlases - Woe Portrait
[8.0] - Another good effort in a strong year for post-metal, traverses extreme doom intensity through to delicate airiness (Phoenix Trail). |
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92.
|
Convocation - Ashes Coalesce
[8.0] - Dense, powerful d/d. |
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93.
|
Insect Ark - The Vanishing
[2020] - Slickly groovy drone. |
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94.
|
Shores Of Null - Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying)
[8.0] - Well-crafted 40-minute doom song with effective inclusion of guests vocalists. |
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95.
|
Falconer - From A Dying Ember
[8.0] - Really good power metal; I don't know if the muted vocal approach is necessarily the best approach in terms of intensity but it does at least give the band a unique feel. |
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96.
|
Anderwelt - 2084
[8.0] - Good mesh of styles, including post-, sludge, doom and more; can be vicious, but the use of strings and female vocals adds nice contrast. |
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97.
|
Red Moon Architect - Emptiness Weighs The Most
[8.0] - Very pleasant melodic doom with Beauty and the Beast vocal interplay pulled off very adeptly. |
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98.
|
Mörk Gryning - Hinsides Vrede
[8.0] - Short, sweet and fun meloblack. |
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99.
|
Exocrine - Maelstrom
[8.0] - Occasionally leans into the excesses of tech-death, but mostly a very enjoyable prog/tech-death album with nice melodic parts. |
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100.
|
Rikard Sjoblom's Gungfly - Alone Together
[8.0] - Some more lovely prog rock from this year; not quite as good as a couple of releases above it in this list, but On The Shoulders Of Giants is a great closer. |
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101.
|
Deadwood Tree - Mourn
[8.0] - Very strong post-metal, occasional hints of Amenra (Spire) but also cover other similarly compelling territory. |
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102.
|
Ixion - L'Adieu Aux Etoiles
[8.0] - More well-constructed doom akin to Monolithe with good use of electronics/symphonics. |
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103.
|
Void Rot - Descending Pillars
[8.0] - Ripping doomy death metal, lots of buzzsaw riff but at a more spacious, mid-ranged tempo. |
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104.
|
Crossed - Barely Buried Love
[8.0] - Brief, bullish and engaging hardcore. |
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105.
|
Contrastic - Mamun
[8.0] - Inventive, dynamic and enjoyable grindcore; it's not surprising to learn they're from the same country as TOOH, but this is a lot more accesible. |
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106.
|
Abyssal Ascendant - Chronicles Of The Doomed Worlds, Pt. 2: Deacons Of Abhorrence
[8.0] - Nice gnarly DM, slightly tech-y but not much and with plenty of punch to riffs. |
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107.
|
Shedfromthebody - A Dead And Aimless Hum
[8.0] - Bleaker, richer in sound and more entrancing than the other downbeat female singer/songwriter/guitarist acts that have been coming through recently. |
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108.
|
Rezn - Chaotic Divine
[8.0] - Nice use of saxophone on this stoner doom record. |
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109.
|
Crippled Black Phoenix - Ellengæst
[8.0] - Another cool rendition of their unique combination of 80s new wave, modern indie, post-rock, prog and other influences. |
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110.
|
Naedr - Past Is Prologue
[8.0] - Short, vicious blast of post-hardcore/screamo that's quite light on the 'post-' bit. |
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111.
|
Ainsoph - Ω - V
[8.0] - Very nice alt-y/gaze-y listen. |
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112.
|
Daniel Tompkins - Ruins
[8.0] - Nice alt/djent re-interpretation of his previous solo album. |
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113.
|
Molasses - Through The Hollow
[8.0] - Another great prog rock album this year, this one more psychedelic and a bit heavier. |
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114.
|
Ingrina - Siste Lys
[8.0] - A tad brief and lacking some of the magic of Etter Lys, but still a good sophomore effort. |
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115.
|
Abigor - Totschläger (A Saintslayer's Songbook)
[8.0] - Impressively demented, flamboyant occult-ish black metal. |
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116.
|
Isolert - World In Ruins
[8.0] - Solid no-frills BM effort. |
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117.
|
Deafkids - Deafbrick [Collaboration]
[8.0] - Fun, blistering noise/cyber percussive onslaught. |
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118.
|
Dynfari - Myrkurs Er Þörf
[8.0] - Really nice atmos-black/post-rock hybrid, slightly let down at times by the vocals but otherwise great. |
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119.
|
Idris Ackamoor - Shaman!
[8.0] - Perhaps a bit too long, but very vibrant afro-jazz record. |
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120.
|
Cult Of Lilith - Mara
[8.0] - A bit too tech-deathy for my tastes at times, but outside of those bits it's imaginative, ambitious and entertaining. |
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121.
|
Ars Magna Umbrae - Apotheosis
[8.0] - Leans into the dissonant chaotic BM style earlier on, but becomes a bit more atmospheric as the album progresses; it pulls off both approaches very well. |
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122.
|
Azure Emote - The Third Perspective
[8.0] - An exuberant but not chaotic extreme prog album with some really interesting use of keyboards/electronics; not entirely convinced about the more extreme elements but the rest of it was enjoyable and fairly unique-sounding. |
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123.
|
Mora Prokaza - By Chance
[8.0] - Intensely creative avant-garde black metal release with major trap/hip-hop influences seamlessly infused into their sound. |
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124.
|
October Falls - A Fall Of An Epoch
[8.0] - Effectively composed and moving atmos-black record, with nice melodies, folky acoustic interludes, Pagan hints in some of the riffing, and an effective atmosphere developed in large part by the percussion. |
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125.
|
Black Crown Initiate - Violent Portraits Of Doomed Escape
[8.0] - Strong third effort by this extreme prog group. |
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126.
|
Atavistia - The Winter Way
[8.0] - Wintersun worship, but very enjoyable Wintersun worship. |
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127.
|
Cytotoxin - Nuklearth
[8.0] - Ended up liking this brutal/grindy death metal album more than I expected; the onslaught of blasting early on got a bit much, but it had hints of Cattle Decap that elevated those moments, and the solos in the title track and melancholic soft instrumental outro piece made for a strong conclusion. |
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128.
|
Shattered Hope - Vespers
[8.0] - Rather enjoyable death/doom with nice guitar leads. |
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129.
|
Khthoniik Cerviiks - Æequiizoiikum
[8.0] - Quirky, off-kilter DM done well. |
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130.
|
Funeral Leech - Death Meditation
[8.0] - Chunky doomy death with satisfying riffs. |
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131.
|
Dyssidia - Costly Signals
[8.0] - Interesting and effective prog release with regular flirtations with more extreme territory, which aren't always quite as convincing, but the cleaner parts are typically vibrant and moving. |
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132.
|
Palm Reader - Sleepless
[7.9] - Very enjoyable post-hardcore/post-metal/prog mesh-up. |
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133.
|
Svalbard - When I Die, Will I Get Better?
[7.9] - Really enjoyable post-hardcore; the punkier parts aren't quite for me, but the post-rock-inspired parts and harsher blasting all sound great. |
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134.
|
Ensiferum - Thalassic
[7.9] - The power metal elements that are (more) prominent here, particularly due to the new clean singer, add an interesting element to tracks. The run of Rum, Women, Victory to For Sirens inclusive is very fun. |
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135.
|
Sundr - Solar Ships
[7.9] - Tough, pained and effective post-metal. |
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136.
|
Plini - Impulse Voices
[7.9] - Pleasant listening from one of the best instru-prog guitarists. |
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137.
|
Lethian Dreams - A Shadow Of Memories
[7.9] - Really nice melancholic Gothic doom. |
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138.
|
Azusa - Loop Of Yesterdays
[7.9] - Decidedly distinctive-sounding mathy proggy stuff, with some great solo work by guest Alex Skolnick. |
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139.
|
Pulsar - Burning Flesh & Time
[7.9] - Slighlty rough but impressive proggy sludge doom, with the title track in particular having some really nice instrumental sections. |
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140.
|
Nocte Obducta - Irrlicht (Es Schlägt Dem Mond Ein Kaltes Herz)
[7.9] - Starts off unassuming enough but gets increasingly interesting as it progresses, with Rot und Grau and Noch particularly standing out in their approach. |
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141.
|
Lifetaker - Night Intruder
[7.9] - More earth-crushing hardcore. |
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142.
|
Dearth - To Crown All Befoulment
[7.9] - Solid black-tinged death metal. |
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143.
|
Marche Funèbre - Einderlicht
[7.9] - Enjoyable d/d on the lighter end of things, but with bursts of DM. |
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144.
|
Shallow Waters - Bed Of Snakes
[7.9] - Enjoyable doom with melodeath elements. |
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145.
|
Mors Principium Est - Seven
[7.9] - Another solid effort from this group, but arguably not their best work. |
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146.
|
Ólafur Arnalds - Some Kind Of Peace
[7.9] - Really nice mellow piano/strings stuff. |
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147.
|
The Motion Mosaic - Avant-Garbage
[7.9] - Some enjoyably dynamic mathcore. |
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148.
|
Lorna Shore - Immortal
[7.9] - Strong deathcore album with symphonics, choirs and ear-catching lead guitar melodies. |
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149.
|
Ba'al - Ellipsism
[7.9] - Gnarly blackened post-. |
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150.
|
Nicumo - Inertia
[7.9] - Very easily enjoyable and accessible Gothic heavy rock/metal. |
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151.
|
Trees Speak - Shadow Forms
[7.9] - Solid second album this year, although not quite as entrancing as Ohms. |
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152.
|
Moribund Mantras - Golden Void
[7.9] - Another strong extreme doom album this year, slightly faster death-y doom with nice clean vocals and guitars slipped in. |
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153.
|
Ursa - Mother Bear, Father Toad
[7.9] - Proper gnarly doom with nasty guitar tone and foggy vox. |
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154.
|
Völur - Death Cult
[7.9] - Intriguing folk doom with some psychedelic/drone aspects and intelligent use of strings. |
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155.
|
Eye Of Doom - Curse Of The Pharaoh
[7.9] - Really fun stoner doom EP with nice delicate acoustic ending. |
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156.
|
Expander - Neuropunk Boostergang
[7.9] - Very distinctive-sounding and noisy crossover thrash, I dig it more than most recent thrash. |
|
157.
|
Zora Jones - Ten Billion Angels
[7.9] - Dunno what UK Bass is, but this is fun, very skittish and bouncy. |
 |
158.
|
Katavasia - Magnus Venator
[7.9] - A ripping and well-delivered meloblack album with some nice local Greek music influences weaved in at times. |
 |
159.
|
Amiensus - Abreaction
[7.9] - Whilst potentially lacking a bit in killer moments, a mostly effective continuation of the increasing black metal direction their sound has been progressing since their debut. Iconoclasm ends off proceedings with a fluorish. |
 |
160.
|
Sleestak - Aeon
[7.9] - On first listen, not quite as captivating as The Fall Of Altrusia, but this psychedelic stoner/post-/doom sound that they have cultivated still sounds distinctive and compelling nearly a decade on from their last release. |
|
161.
|
Katla - Warmongering Luciferians (Chapter 1)
[7.9] - Fierce sludge/stoner EP; listening to "Warcries" could give a newborn baby chest hair. |
 |
162.
|
Teramaze - I Wonder
[7.9] - Bit long for its own good, but with enough quality material to remain enjoyable through. |
 |
163.
|
Xenoglyph - Mytharc
[7.9] - Good space-y black metal with good atmosphere. |
 |
164.
|
Graceless - Where Vultures Know Your Name
[7.9] - Very fun Bolt Thrower-esque death metal. |
|
165.
|
Satyr - Locus
[7.9] - Math-y and sometimes djent-y post-hardcore venture with chaotic time signatures and nice vocals, screamed and sung. |
 |
166.
|
Tomorrow's Rain - Hollow
[7.9] - Effective Gothic (death/)doom album with a litany of well-known guests appearing on it. |
 |
167.
|
Jupiterian - Protosapien
[7.9] - The addition of sludge into this extreme doom sound makes certain songs pretty compelling; the more funeral doom portions aren't quite as engaging, but generally a solid effort. |
 |
168.
|
Ordinance (FIN) - In Purge There Is No Remission
[7.9] - Really enjoyable black metal effort, the vocals are a bit croaky but the riffs are memorable and the more atmospheric/melodic hints in there really nicely add to the record. |
 |
169.
|
Dunwich (RUS) - Tail-Tied Hearts
[7.9] - Kinda Gothic doom but doesn't sound too much like that, hints of Frayle and Dreadnought in their sound, good stuff overall. |
|
170.
|
Gösta Berlings Saga - Konkret Musik
[7.9] Weird synth-heavy instrumental prog with some off-kilter synth and guitar parts, and adventures towards Waste Of Space Orchestra territory. |
|
171.
|
Astralist - 2020 (Demo)
[7.9] - An impressive opening statement from this Irish extreme doom band, with nice guitar leads and powerful riffs. |
 |
172.
|
Hyborian - Volume II
[7.9] - A March record, but deserves some attention - like Hollow Leg last year, this is just fun, rampaging sludge/stoner fun. |
|
173.
|
Xypnotisk - Torn Wide This Fractal World
[7.9] - Psytrance with black metal chords on top; room to develop the fusion but it's incredibly fun. |
 |
174.
|
Váthos - Underwater
[7.9] - Effective post-black debut from this Romanian group, nice atmospheres and healthy amount of subtle melody. |
 |
175.
|
Atramentus - Stygian
[7.9] - Sickening growls are the highlight of a stirring funeral doom record, albeit one with occasional barren patches. |
 |
176.
|
Lik (SWE) - Misanthropic Breed
[7.9] - Very standard Swedish OSDM, but at least the riffs are very memorable. |
 |
177.
|
Primitive Man - Immersion
[7.9] - Nasty as fuck, as to be expected, punishing noisy sludge; Primitive Man are a bit too abrasive to properly enjoy, but the level of malice in their sound is truly admirable. |
 |
178.
|
Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
[7.9] - Short, sharp burst of hardcore savagery, with a nice meaty sound. |
 |
179.
|
Isaurian - Chains Of Blue
[7.9] - Some nice alt/gaze-y post-metal, not too dissimilar to Arctic Sleep (but better than their latest). |
 |
180.
|
The Moon And The Nightspirit - Aether
[7.9] - Not quite as captivating as Wardruna at their best, this more mystical and string instrument-heavy sound is very charming, with the opening title track a fine demonstration of the virtues of their sound. |
 |
181.
|
Gaupa - Feberdröm
[7.9] - Really strong psychedelic hard rock with Bjork-esque vocals, it brings riffs, atmosphere and swagger across its runtime. |
 |
182.
|
Hum - Inlet
[7.9] - A solid alt rock record (songs fluctuate from shoegaze territory tracks to those including big almost alt-metal riffs), with a distinctive sound, interesting song structures and nice gloomy vocals. |
|
183.
|
Nihiloxica - Kaloli
[7.9] - Very cool mix of African percussion and electronics. |
|
184.
|
Kairon; IRSE! - Polysomn
[7.8] - Very likeable combo of shoegaze, prog and space rock; I prefer it in its proggier moments later on. |
 |
185.
|
Wytch Hazel - III: Pentecost
[7.8] - Very pleasant rock effort. |
|
186.
|
Baardvader - Baardvader
[7.8] - Slick stoner rock. |
 |
187.
|
Within The Ruins - Black Heart
[7.8] - Enjoyable melodeath/metalcore combo effort. |
 |
188.
|
Votum - Duhkha
[7.8] - Good albeit brief follow-up to :Ktonik:, with a nice Anneke feature. |
 |
189.
|
Woomera - Caustics Of A Tidal Spirit
[7.8] - Curious mix of math rock, djent, prog, and hints of post-rock/metal; some parts feel a tad underwhelming, but at its peak it can deliver some captivating elaborate soothing soundscapes or polyrhythmic grooves, particularly on Rebirth II. |
 |
190.
|
White Walls - Grandeur
[7.8] - Solid effort from an up-and-coming Romanian prog act. |
 |
191.
|
Respire - Black Line
[7.8] - Good -gazey post-hardcore. |
 |
192.
|
Hex A.D. - Astro Tongue In The Electric Garden
[7.8] - Very enjoyable mix of 70s hard rock and doom, with some lovely solo bits. |
 |
193.
|
Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full [Collaboration]
[7.8] - Nice collab, ERR's vocals and post-rock mix well with Thou's heaviness, which is mostly tempered here. |
 |
194.
|
Dool - Summerland
[7.8] - Nice moody rock record with lush guitar work. |
 |
195.
|
Steven Wilson - The B-Sides Collection
[7.8] - A nice collection of bonus tracks that may rival the best from the album. |
 |
196.
|
Æolian - The Negationist
[7.8] - Very likeable folky melodeath/meloblack. |
 |
197.
|
Deftones - Ohms
[7.8] - Deftones have never quite clicked with me (mostly due to the vocal melodies), but I did enjoy this quite a lot. |
|
198.
|
Covet - Technicolor
[7.8] - Blissful math rock, with great instrumentation across the board and nice vocal cameos. |
 |
199.
|
Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville
[7.8] - Very unique and avant-garde spin on tech/proggy death metal, with some really interesting use of percussion and samples, and winding, contorting songs. I don't love it, but it's certainly interesting. |
|
200.
|
Mabura - Heni
[7.8] - Stoner/psychedelic doom - the stoner metal is solid, but the drone/tribal/psychedelic parts are super exciting to see where they could take them next. |
 |
201.
|
Pulchra Morte - Ex Rosa Ceremonia
[7.8] - Intense yet at times melodic death/doom with short songs and compelling atmosphere. |
|
202.
|
Naat - Fallen Oracles
[7.8] - Well written instrumental post-rock/metal. |
 |
203.
|
Fortíð - World Serpent
[7.8] - Well-made blistering black metal effort. |
 |
204.
|
Urfaust - Teufelsgeist
[7.8] - Doomy first half, droney second half; the clean vocals really make their music distinctive, but beyond that, this is interesting but I won't be flocking back to it. |
|
205.
|
Our Oceans - While Time Disappears
[7.8] - Good interesting prog effort, borderline prog rock/prog metal with bursts of heaviness but some really nice airy instrumentation. |
 |
206.
|
Helioss - Devenir Le Soleil
[7.8] - Good melodic/extreme metal with symphonic elements and baroque influences in the guitar/piano work. |
 |
207.
|
Ignea - The Realms Of Fire And Death
[7.8] - Quite a nice effort with proggy, symphonic, folky and power elements, and nice fem lead vox. |
|
208.
|
Vennart - In The Dead, Dead Wood
[7.8] - Really good alt rock album with some metal crunch at times and good variety. |
|
209.
|
Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma And Divorce
[7.8] - Mellow hip-hop with vulnerable, introspective and surreal lyrics. |
 |
210.
|
Auðn - Vökudraumsins Fangi
[7.8] - Good atmosblack. |
 |
211.
|
Saturn's Husk - The Conduit
[7.8] - Very likeable, quite muted and tonally dark instrumental stoner metal album; could perhaps be a bit shorter but very fun overall. |
 |
212.
|
Oceans Of Slumber - Oceans Of Slumber
[7.8] - Proggier and more grandiose than past records, it's good, but a bit too long for its own good and lacking killer moments to compensate for it. |
 |
213.
|
Azarath - Saint Desecration
[7.8] - Quality, groovy, intense DM. |
 |
214.
|
Mourir - Animal Bouffe Animal
[7.8] - Good post-black album. |
 |
215.
|
Medicated - Descension
[7.8] - Enjoyable Devin-ish alt-influenced melodeath sound. |
 |
216.
|
All Them Witches - Nothing As The Ideal
[7.8] - Quality stoner rock album with some nice little variants put in. Not everything works, but reliably enjoyable. |
 |
217.
|
Infant Island - Beneath
[7.8] - Vicious hardcore/screamo with post-rock bled into tracks (see the end of the Comfort) to great effect. |
 |
218.
|
Cross Bringer - The Signs Of Spiritual Delusion
[7.8] - Not as good as Calligram as far as blackened hardcore goes but a solid debut effort. |
 |
219.
|
Göden - Beyond Darkness
[7.8] - Parts of this dragged here and there, but at its best, the long, heavy, droning riffs sound really great and atmospheric. |
|
220.
|
I Am No Hero - Nights Of Wonder
[7.8] - Very dainty post-rock (isn't it all?) with some lovely melancholic bits, |
 |
221.
|
Rosy Finch - Scarlet
[7.8] - Pleasantly distinctive stoner metal effort from this trio; shines in its darker, more contemplative moments (Vermillion, Gin Fuzz). |
 |
222.
|
Stonebirds - Collapse And Fail
[7.8] - Fluctuates between hardcore Mastodon worship (Stay Clean), chilled out Yob vibes (Down), and other dirtier sludge sounds; nothing special but perfectly enjoyable. |
 |
223.
|
Bongtower - Oscillator
[7.8] - A fun, heavy space-themed stoner metal album, with one of the better Metal versions of Space Oddity I've heard, although it is perhaps a bit too sample/interlude-heavy. |
 |
224.
|
Ovtrenoir - Fields Of Fire
[7.8] - Nice, moody mid-tempo sludge/post-; nothing special but definitely enjoyable. |
 |
225.
|
Soilwork - A Whisp Of The Atlantic
[7.8] - The classic rock elements are more prominent here, perhaps a carry over from TNFO, but the long song works surprisingly well. |
 |
226.
|
Anguish Sublime - Maelstrom Imperium
[7.8] - Considering how integral In Flames were in the early days of melodeath, it's surprising there's not more bands copying the sound of their early albums, but Anguish Sublime do it very well here. |
 |
227.
|
Paul Wardingham - Day Zero: Rise Of The Horde
[7.8] - Some parts are a bit too techy/wanky, but there's also some lovely guitar melodies here. |
|
228.
|
Funeralis - Getaways To Esoteric Light
[7.8] - Effective if fairly standard black metal release with ritualistic overtones. |
 |
229.
|
Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo
[7.8] - Not quite what I expected, but it's a good solid thrash album. |
|
230.
|
JeGong - I
[7.8] - Lengthy but good ambient post-rock. |
|
231.
|
Threestepstotheocean - Del Fuoco
[7.8] - Goodheavypostrock. |
 |
232.
|
Raventale - Planetarium II
[7.8] - Started off a bit underwhelming, but this symphonic/melodic black album picked up as it progressed. |
 |
233.
|
Afsky - Ofte Jeg Drømmer Mig Død
[7.8] - Solid Norse black metal with a somewhat warm tone. |
 |
234.
|
Omination - The Pale Horseman
[7.8] - One-song funeral doom release with grandiose keys, deep cleans and typical glacial growls and riffs. |
 |
235.
|
M.S.W. - Obliviosus
[7.8] - Fairly mellow doom, with some ethereal singing, use of strings and muted chords for long stretches, particularly on the atmospheric title track. Eventually this can spill over into more extreme territory, with black metal riffing, blasting and harsh vocals; the two ends of the spectrum are pulled off similarly adeptly. |
 |
236.
|
Décembre Noir - The Renaissance Of Hope
[7.7] - Well-composed and enjoyable death/doom with subtle gaze-y elements. |
 |
237.
|
Serpent Column - Kathodos
[7.7] - Vicious, at times hellish black metal, but with a taste for subtle melody; however, the anarchic noise/-core tangents are a bit too abrasive. |
|
238.
|
Catapult The Sun - Human Empire Falls
[7.7] - Beastly two-track demo release from this Greek stoner doom instrumental trio, with real churn to the guitar tone and beastly riffs. |
 |
239.
|
Convulse - Deathstar
[7.7] - Interesting proggy stuff with some intriguing medieval-style melodies at times, but the growls sound very out of place. |
 |
240.
|
Sxuperion - Omniscient Pulse
[7.7] - Raw, slightly monotonous space-y death metal. |
|
241.
|
Backxwash - Stigmata
[7.7] - I prefer God Has Nothing..., but the title track here is cool. |
 |
242.
|
Ymyrgar - Where The Oak Drowns Its Roots
[7.7] - Overly long and rough around the edges, but more interesting than most of the folk I checked out at the same time. |
 |
243.
|
Show Me A Dinosaur - Plantgazer
[7.7] - Heavily Deafheaven-inspired but well-executed blackgaze. |
|
244.
|
Fyr - Transponder
[7.7] - Good post-black release with nice melodies and atmosphere. |
|
245.
|
Sheamata - Innoname
[7.7] - Really enjoyable symphonic melodeath effort. |
 |
246.
|
Sunken - Livslede
[7.7] - Pleasant atmos-black/blackgaze effort, quite dreamy in patches. |
 |
247.
|
Stormruler - Under The Burning Eclipse
[7.7] - No-frills BM with good production and good riffs. |
 |
248.
|
Grayceon - Mothers Weavers Vultures
[7.7] - Definite SubRosa and Dreadnought vibes here; definitely an interesting sound, even if the sound outside of the strings isn't something that especially clicks with me. |
 |
249.
|
Psychonaut 4 - Beautyfall
[7.7] - Generally solid, bit inconsistent in tone (following up the powerful Sana, Sana, Sana with the quirky Tokeepandtouse. |
 |
250.
|
Rise To The Sky - Death Will Not Keep Us Apart
[7.7] - Good growly doom that eventually ventures into death/doom. |
 |
251.
|
Kekal - Quantum Resolution
[7.7] - Curious mix of black metal, electronics, dramatic choirs and other elements in an avant-garde package. |
 |
252.
|
Bongtower - Last Summer Days
[7.7] - Good stoner metal with Electric Wizard-heavy influences alongside more driven desert rock. |
 |
253.
|
Poema Arcanus - Stardust Solitude
[7.7] - Effective extreme-leaning doom from Chile; the classic doom vocals don't do too much for me but the guitar work is nice. |
|
254.
|
Frankie And The Witch Fingers - Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters...
[7.7] - Good psychedelic/garage rock that starts and ends well. |
 |
255.
|
Dephosphorus - Sublimation
[7.7] - Nasty blackened death with quality riffs. |
|
256.
|
NINA - Synthian
[7.7] - Very fun synthwave/pop record; not quite as strong in the second half, but in the first half in particular there's some great tracks. |
|
257.
|
Matthew Halsall - Salute To The Sun
[7.7] - Generally enjoyable chill jazz album, although not a rival of the better stuff I've heard this year. |
 |
258.
|
Autumn Nostalgie - Esse Est Percipi
[7.7] - Effective atmos-black/blackgaze album (leaning more towards the latter as the album progresses) with some dry patches but also some nice atmospheric stretches. |
|
259.
|
Dabda - But, All The Shining Things Are
[7.7] - Shimmering, soothing Korean math rock, with its share of technicality but a greater emphasis of blissful vibes. |
 |
260.
|
Patrons Of The Rotting Gate - Bathed In Ash
[7.7] - Very promising prog/tech-death album with some really nice moments, but also a few rough edges in the songwriting that are likely to improve on subsequent efforts from this one-man project. |
 |
261.
|
Bipolar Architecture - The Tragic Protagonist
[7.7] - Solid djent/post-metal mixture, with some gripping atmospheric guitar work alongside the chunky grooves. |
 |
262.
|
Zombi - 2020
[7.7] - Enjoyable instrumental prog rock (think Rush more than Animals As Leaders), the 80s synth rock parts are my favourite aspects. |
 |
263.
|
Amiensus - Ami/AV Split [Split]
[7.7] - The doomy melodeath of Adora Vivos makes for a nice first half to this split, but Amiensus' 10-minute folk black contribution edges them out. |
 |
264.
|
Health - Disco4 :: PART I
[7.7] - Successful collaborative electronic effort. |
 |
265.
|
Pharaoh Overlord - 6
[7.6] - Synthwave with Aaron Turner roaring on top. |
 |
266.
|
Telepathy - Burn Embrace
[7.6] - Solid instru-post. |
 |
267.
|
Necrowretch - The Ones From Hell
[7.6] - Frenetically paced DM, arguably too frenetic at times, but generally sounds rather good. |
 |
268.
|
Zeal & Ardor - Wake Of A Nation
[7.6] - Politically charged, and demonstrative of Z&A's capacity to evolve their sound, but not super compelling musically. |
 |
269.
|
Couch Slut - Take A Chance On Rock'N'Roll
[7.6] - Good noisy sludge/-core, moody and with purpose, if not quite up with some other -core efforts from this year. |
 |
270.
|
The Sound That Ends Creation - Memes, Dreams, And Flying Machines
[7.6] - Manic mathgrind, insane, abraisve and fun. |
 |
271.
|
Persuader - Necromancy
[7.6] - Fairly outrageous in how blatantly it rips off Blind Guardian at times, but still enjoyable as a result. |
 |
272.
|
Bròn - Pred Dverima Noći
[7.6] - Pleasant synth-heavy meloblack. |
 |
273.
|
King Witch - Body Of Light
[7.6] - Stoner-influenced guitar work in this decent doom effort. |
|
274.
|
Katla - Warmongering Luciferians (Chapter 2)
[7.6] - I preferred Chapter 1, but this is still fun. |
 |
275.
|
Countless Skies - Glow
[7.6] - Enjoyable Insomnium/Be'lakor worship. |
 |
276.
|
Carnosus - Dogma Of The Deceased
[7.6] - Enjoyable melodically inclined thrash/death effort. |
|
277.
|
Rome - The Lone Furrow
[7.6] - Neofolk, more Sol Invictus than Wardruna, and with a litany of renowned guests - generally decent. |
 |
278.
|
Uada - Djinn
[7.6] - I thought this started pretty well, but lost quite a bit of appeal after the first couple of songs were over. |
 |
279.
|
Tombs - Under Sullen Skies
[7.6] - Solid enough effort, but a bit underwhelming given how hard Monarchy Of Shadows hits. |
|
280.
|
Nothing - The Great Dismal
[7.6] - Decent heavy shoegaze album. |
 |
281.
|
Arkan - Lila H
[7.6] - Good oriental/folky melodeath, not quite Al Qassam but likeable. |
 |
282.
|
Scour - Black
[7.6] - Rudimentary but enjoyable BM EP with Anselmo vox |
 |
283.
|
Beherit - Bardo Exist
[7.6] - Ominous dark ambient. |
 |
284.
|
Pandrador - Ov Rituals, Ov Ancestors, Ov Destiny
[7.6] - A step up from something like Necrot in terms of memorability, with this more modern spin on death metal; not quite standout but easy to like. |
 |
285.
|
Nonexist - Like The Fearless Hunter
[7.6] - Melodeath, but with more aggression than most; this does feel like melodic death at times. Not perfect, but it improves as it goes on, with tracks such as Meditation Upon Death providing a fair amount to enjoy. |
 |
286.
|
Ihsahn - Pharos
[7.6] - Softer rock tracks, but sound pleasant, with good singing from Ihsahn and solid covers. Preferred this to Telemark comfortably. |
 |
287.
|
Crust - ...And A Dirge Becomes An Anthem
[7.6] - Blackened sludge, but in more of a 'some tracks are black, some tracks are sludge' way - Graveland is very more nasty, muscly Southern-style sludge, whilst a couple of earlier tracks leant a lot more into black metal, almost showing hints of Schammasch at times. |
|
288.
|
Gravkväde - GRAV/RUIN
[7.6] - Decent blackened doom. |
 |
289.
|
Unleash The Archers - Abyss
[7.6] - Shines quite nicely in its power metal moments, particularly something like Faster Than Light, but then the more heavy or pop metal tracks (particularly Through Stars) don't impress in the same way. |
 |
290.
|
Ingested - Where Only Gods May Tread
[7.6] - Slam/deathcore, but I actually found it pretty enjoyable on the whole, with solid grooves and breakdowns. |
 |
291.
|
Vonlaus - Röð Slæmra Ákvarðana
[7.6] - Good little black metal EP with good moody Lifelover-ish riffs and neat guitar leads on Gegn Mer. |
 |
292.
|
Krallice - Mass Cathexis
[7.6] - An interesting band, but one that's too techy for my tastes really. |
 |
293.
|
Körgull The Exterminator - Sharpen Your Spikes
[7.6] - Straight-up ripping blackened thrash. |
 |
294.
|
Ôros Kaù - Imperii Templum Aries
[7.6] - Good black/death with frenetic, cavernous sound, booming deep cleans, and cheesy synths. |
 |
295.
|
John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
[7.6] - Generally pretty enjoyable instrumental prog album without an overload of shredding, but not quite my thing these days. |
 |
296.
|
Old Tower - The Last Eidolon
[7.6] - Above-average dungeon synth. |
 |
297.
|
Boris - No
[7.6] - A lot punkier than the few Boris things I've heard before, it's a fun enough hardcore record, which is something I'm generally not that fussed by. |
 |
298.
|
Svärd - The Rift
[7.6] - Probably one of the more enjoyable retro-heavy sounds I've heard in a while, probably because it doesn't feel like a complete retread of NWOBHM, but it filtered through a couple of other influences. |
 |
299.
|
Mesarthim - The Degenerate Era
[7.6] - Predictably enjoyable, but given the prolific nature of Mesarthim's output, this is somewhat a case of 'more of the same', without being as standout as Ghost Condensate was. |
 |
300.
|
Dark Tranquillity - Moment
[7.5] - The sound of DT playing it safe (albeit with more cleans), it's fine but won't rival their best work. |
|
301.
|
Coastlands - Death
[7.5] - Slightly noisy but generally solid instru-post-rock/metal. |
 |
302.
|
Stormkeep - Galdrum
[7.5] - Medieval-inspired meloblack with acoustic ditties and dungeon synths. |
 |
303.
|
Blackfield - For The Music
[7.5] - Steven Wilson's poppier inclinations sound better and more natural in Blackfield than his solo work. |
|
304.
|
Demersal - Less
[7.5] - Decent blackened post-hardcore, albeit potentially with room for variety (which comes nicely in the good closing track, the best here). |
 |
305.
|
Boisson Divine - La Halha
[7.5] - Upbeat and very easy-going folk metal, but the vocal melodies are really nice. |
 |
306.
|
Noumena - Anima
[7.5] - A lot folkier than I remember Absence being, also a bit better than I remember the previous one being. Bit surprising that they're so much less prominent than Insomnium given the similar vibes they give off. |
|
307.
|
Earthbound - Evergreen
[7.5] - Conventional but enjoyable and competent djent/metalcore EP. |
 |
308.
|
Good Tiger - Raised In A Doomsday Cult
[7.5] - A mostly enjoyable post-hardcore record somewhat carried by ex-Tesseract vocalist Elliot Coleman. |
 |
309.
|
Ulver - Flowers Of Evil
[7.5] - I was excited by all the Assassination of Julius Caesar talk, but sadly this feels a bit like that album's B-sides. |
 |
310.
|
Wheelfall - A Specter Is Haunting The World
[7.5] - Quite abrasive sludge with booming Cavalera-esque vocals and almost an industrial sensibility, I don't love it but I kinda dig it. |
 |
311.
|
Napalm Death - Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
[7.5] - Not going to make me a Napalm Death fan, but good enough. |
 |
312.
|
Pyramaze - Epitaph
[7.5] - Teramaze-lite sound, but enjoyable. |
 |
313.
|
Dead Neanderthals - Blood Rite
[7.4] - Drony d/d song - could develop a bit more but pretty decent. |
 |
314.
|
Iron Mask - Master Of Masters
[7.4] - Good neoclassical-influenced power metal; didn't find it super hooky but pleasant enough. |
 |
315.
|
Wolves Den - Miserere
[7.4] - Frenetic, melodically inclined black metal that spends most of its time at full pelt. |
|
316.
|
The Pineapple Thief - Versions Of The Truth
[7.4] - Another pleasant rendition of their brand of atmospheric prog/alt rock, albeit a little bit heavy on the soft quiet tracks towards the end. |
 |
317.
|
Dagor Bragollach - Cosmogony Of Yggdrasil
[7.4] - Rudimentary, serviceable but slightly unremarkable meloblack with some early Dimmu Borgir-esque mystical keys. |
|
318.
|
Kosmogonia - Enthrone The Gods
[7.4] - Solid enough symphonic folk/melodeath debut record from these Greeks. |
 |
319.
|
Cobra Thief - Animal Oxygen
[7.4] - Some cool solos, and the riffs are ok if not great. |
 |
320.
|
Carnation - Where Death Lies
[7.4] - Some more good quality but by-the-numbers death metal in a year full of it; quite Resurrection Through Carnage-esque, and Swedish OSDM-leaning in general, but with a cleaner tone. |
 |
321.
|
Faustian Pact - Outojen Tornien Varjoissa
[7.4] - Decent black metal with super-cheesy dungeon synths. |
 |
322.
|
Fawn Limbs - Sleeper Vessels
[7.4] - More of the same from this prolific grind act. |
 |
323.
|
Skeletal Remains - The Entombment Of Chaos
[7.4] - Very by-the-numbers death metal but with some more memorability than Necrot, particularly with the solos. |
 |
324.
|
Nimrød - Twelve Degrees Of Violence
[7.4] - Symphonic death metal, has interesting symphonic arrangements and enough about it to not just be completely stuck in the shadow of SepticFlesh/Fleshgod Apocalypse, but not enough to rise much further than that. |
 |
325.
|
The Sullen - Rituals Of Death
[7.4] - Enjoyable doomy black metal with tortured vocals and ominous mood. |
 |
326.
|
Subterranean Masquerade - The Pros & Cons Of Social Isolation
[7.3] - Fun, eclectic lockdown effort. |
 |
327.
|
Kaatayra - Toda História Pela Frente
[7.3] - A well-made atmos-black record with nice lead guitar work, but perhaps a bit overly long given that it's a more conventional approach (albeit still with inclusion of Brazilian folk elements). |
 |
328.
|
Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night
[7.3] - Decent but overly long prog. |
 |
329.
|
Celestial Season - The Secret Teachings
[7.3] - Melancholic Gothic-y doom with growls, good but forgettable. |
 |
330.
|
Chrome Waves - Where We Live
[7.3] - Good blackgaze effort, although Spoonfed is a bit tedious. |
 |
331.
|
Briqueville - Quelle
[7.3] - Brooding instrumental post-metal, good but slightly unremarkable. |
 |
332.
|
Spaceslug - Leftovers
[7.3] - The group's approach translates moderately well to acoustic/synth songs for an EP on the side, but also this is something I hope they don't pursue further. |
|
333.
|
Ring Van Möbius - The 3rd Majesty
[7.3] - Good, but a bit too retro-prog for my liking, particularly the lengthy keyboard solos. |
 |
334.
|
Nader Sadek - The Serapeum
[7.3] - Decent EP with various interpretations of a single DM song. |
|
335.
|
Malfet - Alban Arthan
[7.3] - Pleasant dreamy dungeon synth. |
 |
336.
|
Dominia - The Withering Of The Rose
[7.3] - Has good tracks but a bit overlong. |
 |
337.
|
Pallbearer - Forgotten Days
[7.3] - Nice lead guitar work, but a bit forgettable. |
 |
338.
|
Duma - Duma
[7.3] - Highly original-sounding and very abrasive industrial/grind effort, with vicious electronics in place of guitars and distinctive use of African drums instead of conventional drums. |
 |
339.
|
Warp Chamber - Implements Of Excruciation
[7.3] - Decent short DM album. |
 |
340.
|
Vassafor - To The Death
[7.3] - Dirty-sounding black metal with some death metal elements (particularly on The Burning Ithyr); the sound is a little bit muddy and flat for things to necessarily jump out, which considering it runs over 60 minutes does mean it starts to lose some charm before it's over with. |
|
341.
|
Cult Of Madness - Insanity
[7.3] - Operating in the same melodeath/metalcore middle ground as The Black Dahlia Murder, this EP comes off as quite similar to TBDM (particularly on Live Like Immortal), but nails the sound very effectively. |
 |
342.
|
Steve Von Till - No Wilderness Deep Enough
[7.3] - Pleasant stripped-down acoustic folk with some nice background piano/strings (well, may be mellotron and cello) parts. |
 |
343.
|
Ruadh - The Rock Of The Clyde
[7.3] - Saor-ish Scottish black/folk album, not as good as Saor's album from last year but perfectly likeable. |
 |
344.
|
Black Rainbows - Cosmic Ritual Supertrip
[7.3] - Fun desert/stoner rock. |
|
345.
|
Boneflower - Armour
[7.3] - Good post-hardcore, but not the best I've heard recently. |
 |
346.
|
Froglord - Amphibian Ascending
[7.3] - No-nonsense fun sludge/stoner metal. |
|
347.
|
Viaticum - Solar Transient
[7.2] - Decent post-/psychedelic rock with more indie-style vocals. |
 |
348.
|
Firewind - Firewind
[7.2] - No The Premonition, but they've been much worse than this on recent efforts. |
 |
349.
|
Bury Tomorrow - Cannibal
[7.2] - Metalcore akin to Polaris' debut, but without quite the same hooks or atmosphere. |
 |
350.
|
Void Paradigm - Ultime Pulsation / Demain Brûle
[7.2] - Distinctive and experimental blackened doom release. |
 |
351.
|
Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
[7.2] - Decent groove/alt metal, lifted by having Puciato and Sanders on vocals. |
 |
352.
|
Titaan - Itima
[7.2] - Ambitious but unrefined one-song album by one-man BM project. |
 |
353.
|
Kaamos Warriors - Kirous
[7.2] - Ok symph-heavy black/death metal. |
 |
354.
|
Obsidian Kingdom - Meat Machine
[7.2] - Quite quirky prog/alt release with FNM influence, some nice parts but the odd irritating bit. |
 |
355.
|
Hellripper - The Affair Of The Poisons
[7.2] - Ripping harsh-edged speed metal, fun. |
|
356.
|
Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
[7.5] - Broadly enjoyable electronic rock effort. |
 |
357.
|
Communic - Hiding From The World
[7.2] - Good prog-heavy, but prog-heavy in general isn't something I love. |
 |
358.
|
Sordid Pink - Sordid Pink
[7.2] - Djent with hinds of DGD. |
 |
359.
|
Finntroll - Vredesvävd
[7.2] - Keyboards make it sound like classic Nightwish trying extreme Euro-folk metal. |
 |
360.
|
Pale Divine - Consequence Of Time
[7.2] - Decent doom/hard rock. |
|
361.
|
Colour In The Clouds - Inosculation
[7.2] - Emo/post-hardcore, sounds as you'd expect. |
 |
362.
|
Novae Militiae - Topheth
[7.2] - Well-made hellish-sounding BM, but a bit invariant. |
 |
363.
|
Thoughts Factory - Elements
[7.2] - Fairly standard conventional classic-sounding melodic prog metal; it's good but not massively enthusing. |
|
364.
|
Wicked Sisters - wired_backwards
[7.2] - Nice hefty little industrial demo. |
 |
365.
|
Necrot - Mortal
[7.2] - Very standard OSDM, performed well and with some sick solos (and Sinister Will in general is pretty great), but a bit too generic to be memorable. |
 |
366.
|
Feral Light - Life Vapor
[7.2] - Fairly standard, at times melancholic, black metal, with the occasional curve ball thrown in. |
 |
367.
|
Opium Warlords - Nembutal
[7.1] - A bit too long for its own good, but good drone doom. |
 |
368.
|
Uprising - II
[7.1] - Covers black n' roll, Pagan melodies, and a couple of other BM approaches in this one-man band effort. |
|
369.
|
The Psychedelic Furs - Made Of Rain
[7.1] - A good post-punk album, although I feel like the earlier tracks have more charm; it begins to grate a bit as it goes on. |
 |
370.
|
Phoxjaw - Royal Swan
[7.1] - A bit too indie for my tastes, but fairly enjoyable indie/post-hardcore debut. |
 |
371.
|
Appalachian Winter - Winterhewn
[7.1] - Generally good symphonic atmos-black, albeit slightly forgettable. |
 |
372.
|
Gallows Hymn - The Age Of Decadence
[7.1] - Decent enough proggy/folky melodeath slightly held back by production at times. |
|
373.
|
Osees - Metamorphosed
[7.1] - Decent psych rock jam from this prolific group. |
 |
374.
|
Witchskull - A Driftwood Cross
[7.1] - Decent stoner-y doom with classical doom vox. |
 |
375.
|
SVNTH - Spring In Blue
[7.1] - Lengthy album fluctuating between blackgaze, alt rock, Wayfarer-esque atmos-black and a couple of sounds. Does all of them fairly well, but the end product isn't quite equal to or greater than the sum of its parts. |
 |
376.
|
Winter's End - Into The Sea
[7.1] - Impressive and full-sounding symphonic metal demo, with competent and complex symphonic arrangements. Some of the vocal melodies could be worked on, but generally a highly respectable effort. |
 |
377.
|
A.A. Williams - Forever Blue
[7.1] - Solid subdued gloomy post-rock debut record, with some nice climaxes to several tracks. |
 |
378.
|
Novarupta - Marine Snow
[7.0] - Good post- effort in a good post-year. |
 |
379.
|
Omega Diatribe - Metanoia
[7.0] - Djent-heavy groove metal, with notable brocore leanings compared with e.g. Meshuggah. Delivers some pretty punchy riffs and grooves, and the clean vocals are serviceable. |
 |
380.
|
My Dying Bride - The Ghost Of Orion
[7.0] - OK if a tad boring at times. |
 |
381.
|
Vanden Plas - The Ghost Xperiment - Illumination
[7.0] - Tagged as progressive power metal, not sure it's either, feels more like 80s stadium rock crossed with heavy metal, but it sounds alright for music under that description. |
 |
382.
|
Artach - Chronicles Of A Black Winter
[7.0] - Pretty interesting 80s-oriented black metal sound, although some of the production issues get in the way. |
 |
383.
|
The Lightbringer Of Sweden - Rise Of The Beast
[7.0] - Very classic but pretty solid trad heavy/power album. |
 |
384.
|
Werewolves - The Dead Are Screaming
[7.0] - Passable debut with some chunky riffs but some patches to zone out during. |
 |
385.
|
Midnight Dice - Hypnotized
[7.0] - Incredibly classic-sounding 80s heavy metal sound, but of the more up-tempo and energetic variety, and delivered with a lot of conviction. |
 |
386.
|
Orbit Culture - Nija
[7.0] - Nothing crazy, but generally enjoyable Gothenburg with some cool moments and curious Chuck Billy-esque cleans/Testament tendencies on a couple of songs. |
 |
387.
|
Carcass - Despicable
[7.0] - Decent little snippet of Carcass. |
|
388.
|
Molchat Doma - Monument
[7.0] - Apparently the next big thing in synthwave; decent enough, but not quite my thing - a bit too new wave perhaps? |
 |
389.
|
!T.O.O.H.! - Free Speech
[6.9] - Pure frenzy, but the synths work better with the tech-death this time around. |
 |
390.
|
Lucifer - Lucifer III
[6.9] - I enjoy the vibes of this hard rock album, even if it is missing a certain something, whether it's a bit more density to the sound or something else. |
 |
391.
|
Sacred Outcry - Damned For All Time
[6.9] - By-the-book Europower metal, good enough but lacking a bit of X factor, apart from the impressive title track. |
|
392.
|
Steve Roach - Tomorrow
[6.9] - Ambient, it could progress a bit more but it's pleasant enough. |
 |
393.
|
Verikalpa - Tuoppitanssi
[6.9] - A tad pedestrian, but well made folk. |
 |
394.
|
Stygian Crown - Stygian Crown
[6.9] - A classic strain of doom, made well but a bit boring. |
 |
395.
|
Sólstafir - Endless Twilight Of Codependent Love
[6.9] - Another generally pleasant album that only shines in parts. |
 |
396.
|
Mitochondrial Sun - Sju Pulsarer
[6.9] - Definitely grew on me as it progressed with the melodies/synths used, but the constant blasting is a tad too much. |
|
397.
|
Lednik - Celestial Monuments
[6.9] - Effective instrumental post-rock on the slightly heavier side, the last two tracks have some nice punchy-yet-euphoric moments. Not got quite enough to stand out from the instrumental post-rock cloud though, for me. |
 |
398.
|
Sleepmakeswaves - These Are Not Your Dreams
[6.9] - Mostly enjoyable return from these Aussie post-rockers, although the new vocals are a mixed bag, with some of the less inspiring tracks here being those that feature them (particularly Zelda). |
|
399.
|
Kate NV - Room For The Moon
[6.9] - Quirky avant-pop with quite a new age chill feel to a lot of the tracks, when they aren't being taken in peculiar directions structurally, rhythmically or instrumentally. |
 |
400.
|
Pyrrhon - Abscess Time
[6.9] - Vicious hardcore/death metal combination, deeply unpleasant and not much pleasure to be derived from listening. |
 |
401.
|
Romuvos - The Baltic Crusade
[6.9] - Nordic Tyr-style folk metal, sounds fine to listen to but does feel like a fairly unremarkable rendition of that sound. |
 |
402.
|
Undeath - Lesions Of A Different Kind
[6.9] - Yet more OSDM worship, albeit slightly doomier and a tad off-kilter. |
 |
403.
|
Desolator - Sermon Of Apathy
[6.9] - Decent old school-inspired death metal, has a few cool riffs for sure but won't be returning. |
 |
404.
|
Uniform - Shame
[6.9] - Punky industrial/noise rock, I liked the general aesthetic mostly, and some tracks were cool, but not a huge fan of the vocal tone, or the style in general. |
 |
405.
|
Night - High Tides - Distant Skies
[6.9] - Starts off with early Dio-esque heavy metal, then switches to arena hard rock; does both fine, but not like I particularly care for either. |
 |
406.
|
Thrudvangar - Vegvisir
[6.8] - Fits in some nice riffs, but also can be a bit stale at times. |
 |
407.
|
Mizmor - Dialetheia [Collaboration]
[6.8] - Relatively hypnotic but also relatively unremarkable ambient/drone effort. |
|
408.
|
Vulgarian - Human Scum
[6.8] - Dense, thick sludge sound and churning riffs; decent but not quite at the level of some other sludge efforts this year. |
 |
409.
|
Viikate - Rillumarei!
[6.8] - Decent folky melodic metal with lots of cleaner guitars; it's okay, but not that keen on the vocals. |
|
410.
|
Wolvenfrost - Hel Embattled
[6.8] - Very respectable black metal debut EP. |
 |
411.
|
The Infernal Sea - Negotium Crucis
[6.8] - Decent black metal with odd black n' roll moments. |
 |
412.
|
Contrarian - Only Time Will Tell
[6.7] - Decent tech/prog death hindered by the limited extreme vocals, but which sounds rather nice in its more mellow, proggier moments. |
 |
413.
|
Carach Angren - Franckensteina Strataemontanus
[6.7] - My first encounter with CA, found this to be fairly enjoyable but unremarkable symphonic black. |
 |
414.
|
Yatra - All Is Lost
[6.7] - Enjoyable, if slightly rough, sludge/stoner. |
 |
415.
|
Hällas - Conundrum
[6.7] - Not sold on the vocals, but I like the synthy hard rock in other parts. |
 |
416.
|
Fit For A King - The Path
[6.6] - Shameless Killswitch worship, but some of the more satisfactorily hooky KSE ripping-off I've heard. |
 |
417.
|
Zmey Gorynich - Чёртовы Пляски
[6.5] - Folk-deathcore is definitely an unusual mix, but this unfortunately is a bit annoying to listen to. |
 |
418.
|
Nibiru - Panspermia
[6.6] - Definitely not as annoying as some of their work can be, but still not great. |
 |
419.
|
Maladie - The Grand Aversion
[6.6] - ...Still... was great; this is just wacky in an irritating way. |
 |
420.
|
Benediction - Scriptures
[6.6] - Of the many OSDM albums coming out in the last few months, this is not nearly the most interesting IMO. |
 |
421.
|
Faceless Burial - Speciation
[6.6] - Dunno if it's just death metal fatigue, but this was technically fine but a dull listen. |
 |
422.
|
Varg - Zeichen
[6.6] - Slightly meloblackier version of Amon Amarth, and about as exciting as their recent albums. |
 |
423.
|
Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos
[6.6] - Decent moody bluesy alt rock, without anything particularly gripping - not quite as good as The Pale Emperor. |
|
424.
|
Light Dweller - Apparition
[6.6] - Some okay aggressive (atmos-)black, although the guitar leads and piano added on top occasionally sound a bit haphazard. |
|
425.
|
Guardsman - The Entropy Illusion - Part II
[6.6] - Reasonable heavy/hard rock concept album, although missing a little bit of punch in the mix. |
|
426.
|
Allelic - À Contre Vent
[6.6] - Sadly the music here doesn't quite match up to the spellbinding artwork (unlike Skyforest earlier this year); it's perfectly serviceable pagan black, but slightly limited. |
 |
427.
|
Sodom - Genesis XIX
[6.6] - Rather meh. |
 |
428.
|
October Falls - Syys
[6.6] - Pleasant but somewhat unremarkable acoustic neofolk. |
 |
429.
|
Blattaria - Dream, Dwell, Die
[6.5] - Somewhat testing dissonant BM. |
|
430.
|
Jon Hassell - Seeing Through Sound (Pentimento Volume Two)
[6.5] - Glitchy, at times eerie ambient music; a bit too weird to be background music and a bit too barebones to be active listening, but an interesting product nonetheless. |
 |
431.
|
Arctic Rain - The One
[6.5] - Incredibly 80s-sounding arena hard rock record, from the synths and riff styles to vocal harmonies, but played with plenty of conviction.# |
 |
432.
|
Mountain Witch - Extinct Cults
[6.5] - With so many bands doing this kind of rock, you have to do it a bit better than this to stand out. |
|
433.
|
Ni Moya - Ni Moya
[6.5] - Interesting electronic side-project from the Naxatras frontman; I enjoyed the upbeat ambient vibes of the opening tracks, but the jazz of the closing track less so. |
|
434.
|
Death Force - Delirio
[6.5] - Uncomplicated, raw and frenetic death/thrash demo. |
 |
435.
|
Lamp Of Murmuur - Heir Of Ecliptical Romanticism
[6.5] - Incredibly traditional Norse-style black metal, good for what it is. |
|
436.
|
The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers
[6.4] - Fairly enjoyable indie rock album, albeit one that peaks early. |
 |
437.
|
Valdrin - Effigy Of Nightmares
[6.4] - Very competent and passingly satisfying Dissection-style meloblack, but not particularly memorable beyond that. |
 |
438.
|
The Acacia Strain - Slow Decay
[6.4] - Very low-end chunky deathcore, nice thick sound but wears old a bit fast. |
 |
439.
|
Mystras - Castles Conquered And Reclaimed
[6.4] - This is actually quite enjoyable at times with some of the Medieval-inspired melodies; however, it's so fucking lo-fi and the synths are so cheesy, it can't get higher than here. |
 |
440.
|
Drakum - Zombie Dragons From Outer Space
[6.3] - Pleasant if lightweight cheese; better than Alestorm if nothing else. |
 |
441.
|
Liturgy - Origin Of The Alimonies
[6.3] - Parts of this worked quite nicely, but quite a lot of it just lost me. |
 |
442.
|
Deep Purple - Whoosh!
[6.3] - Perfectly competent hard rock album for a 50-year-old band; Nothing At All is an impressive effort. |
|
443.
|
Daniel Avery - Love + Light
[6.3] - Half techno, half ambient; all good, none great. |
 |
444.
|
Changeling - III
[6.3] - Short, sweet, but somewhat unremarkable black metal release. Nothing wrong with it, but left no lasting impression. |
|
445.
|
Bong Prophet - Attack And Dethrone God
[6.3] - A lengthy, and occasionally wearing, drone/noise experience, but a somewhat rewarding one. |
 |
446.
|
Ringarë - Sorrow Befell
[6.3] - First half, decent but rudimentary black metal; second half, dungeon synth black metal without the metal and just the synths - okay, but didn't leave a strong impression. |
 |
447.
|
Phase Reverse - Phase IV: Genocide
[6.2] - Adequate but slightly irritating heavy Southern-style rock. |
 |
448.
|
Ayreon - Transitus
[6.1] - Long and corny, but with good moments. |
 |
449.
|
DevilDriver - Dealing With Demons I
[6.0] - DD never clicked with me; this is okay, but isn't going to change me on them. |
 |
450.
|
Turmion Kätilöt - Global Warning
[6.0] - I liked aspects of this mildly eclectic, electronics-heavy album, but it annoyed me a bit too regularly to properly enjoy. |
 |
451.
|
Reverorum Ib Malacht - Vad Är Inte Sju Huvud?
[6.0] - An abrasive, cacophanous mix of a variety of styles, including industrial, noise, dark ambient, black metal and more, in an exceedingly lengthy package; has its fair share of good ideas but is a bit unlistenable. |
 |
452.
|
Cloudkicker - Loops
[6.0] - Collection of brief loop vignettes, pleasant but a bit insubstantial. |
|
453.
|
Shinichi Atobe - Yes
[6.0] - Passingly likeable but slightly underwhelming minimal techno release, elevated by a couple of more substantial tracks towards the end. |
|
454.
|
Victoria Monet - Jaguar
[6.0] - Unsurprisingly this R&B debut isn't at all in line with my music tastes, but it was interesting to try out and relatively enjoyable, particularly Dive. |
 |
455.
|
Oghre - Grimt
[6.0] - Proggy sludge/post-metal, sounds fairly distinctive but also not hugely satisfying. |
 |
456.
|
Plague Organ - Orphan
[5.8] - I honestly thought there were some really interesting ideas here, but the relentless blast beats were just too much to handle for 40 minutes straight. |
 |
457.
|
Many Blessings - Emanation Body
[5.8] - Very minimalistic noise. |
 |
458.
|
VoidCeremony - Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
[5.8] - Complex but not enjoyable. |
|
459.
|
Ontrothon, Saga Of The Ancient Glass - Ontrothon, Saga Of The Ancient Glass
[5.8] - I've not heard much dungeon synth before, but this is very similar to what I have heard; kinda nice, but pretty twee and way too long given the contents. |
 |
460.
|
Amaranthe - Manifest
[5.8] - A bit better than the last couple, but not at The Nexus/Massive Addictive level, and BOOM1! is horrendous. |
 |
461.
|
Metallica - S&M 2
[5.8] - Passable return to the S&M sound, although the new songs they selected for this are a bit of a mixed bag. |
 |
462.
|
Kirk Windstein - Dream In Motion
[5.7] - Fairly boring. |
 |
463.
|
Hiidenhauta - Riivin
[5.7] - Fluctuates between punky Kvelertak-esque black and more symphonic meloblack; not that keen on either. |
|
464.
|
Ish Kerioth - Under Unclean Wings
[5.6] - Rudimentary lo-fi black metal demo, but a fairly enjoyable one. |
 |
465.
|
Black Funeral - Scourge Of Lamashtu
[5.5] - Raw and at times quite sloppy ambient lo-fi black metal, with some slightly cheesy synths in there too. |
 |
466.
|
Battle Born - Battle Born
[5.4] - This power metal debut is a bit too by-the-book, but the closing track Sovngarde Awaits is a fun ending to the EP. |
 |
467.
|
Sumac - May You Be Held
[5.3] - Some more decent sludge riffs diluted in stretches of dissatisfying guitar noise. |
 |
468.
|
Defeated Sanity - The Sanguinary Impetus
[5.2] - I do not like brutal death metal, it would appear. |
 |
469.
|
Evaporated Sores - Ulcerous Dimensions
[4.0] - I really hated this; I'm sure the music is intentionally dissonant, but it just makes it sound sloppy. The density of the sound in heavier moments is good, but everything else is fucking annoying. |
