[N/A] - Not quite AOTY, but plugging it at the top to encourage people to check this out please!

[9.0] - Perhaps not quite as magnificent in its scope as Etenem Aenka, but a further consolidation of the band's place at the top of the modern metal totem pole.

[8.5] - Persefone once again on form, new vocalist slotting in nicely.

[8.5] - Lacks a 'Through The Wall Of Light'-tier song, but an accomplished sophomore release.

[8.5]

[8.5] - Really enjoyable and varied release with a good balance of black metal intensity, proggy melody and a hint of eccentricity.

[8.5] - Punishing, unpleasant blackened dissodeath with post- touches.

[8.0] - Delightfully bombastic symphy melodeath.

[8.0] - Really great swaggering sludge, tasty riffs and leads.

[8.0] - Perhaps lacked the shock factor that SIDABS had in terms of enjoyment, but I still really dig this atmospheric dissonant tech-death sound.

[8.0] - Really enjoyable melodeath/meloblack with a slight techy edge.

[8.0] - Excellent evolution of their style, still recognizably post-metal but with a distinctive and emotional flavour.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Some more vibrant melodicism here compared with e.g. Aenigma, scratches a slightly different itch but still very impressive.

[8.0] - Very accomplished and diverse debut, shines especially in its more expansive and progressive moments.

[8.0]

[8.0] - From first listen, possibly second to In Contact in their discography; has less of the macho BS riffs and more heart to it.

[8.0] - Belligerent sludgy grindy dissodeath.

[8.0] - Really solid modern black metal album with post-, melo- and disso-black elements.

[8.0] - Great proggy/posty epic folk metal sound.

[8.0] - Not quite Messages From The Resonator-tier, but a really fun listen.

[8.0] - A major stylistic evolution for the group, and a massive step up from their previous release.

[8.0] - Very strong melodic capabilities on this album, might be the one from Wormwood that I've enjoyed the most.

[8.0] - Genre-spanning disso-death belligerence.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Very solid, at times borderline metallic, instrumental psych rock, with some quite passionate-sounding moments.

[8.0] - Super-long but very cool and well-written heavy psych record.

[8.0] - Strong second half to the double album.

[8.0] - Solid keys-tinged historical-inspired meloblack.

[8.0] - Symphonic power metal, but not necessarily in the usual way, with very prominent violin/strings; also, solid songs and vocals - upper-tier symphonic and/or power metal.

[8.0] - Really cool prog/tech-death/thrash with awesome solos.

[8.0] - Bit more extreme than Eden In Reverse, still some very good blackened prog.

[8.0] - Peculiar, at-times melodic, at-times a bit proggy, but consistently intriguing black metal.

[8.0]

[8.0] - A further expansion of their odd, uncompromising and unique take on metal.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Nice, catchy return from the band with rich sonic mix.

[8.0] - Tech-death meets symph-black, works well.

[8.0] - Cool trippy synth-prog stuff from members of Oranssi Pazuzu and other acts.

[8.0] - Continuing to go posty with their sludge, there's ugliness here but also lightness.

[8.0] - Really enjoyable alt-heavy stoner sound.

[8.0] - Very solid and haunting 2-song EP.

[8.0] - Very evocative and rich-sounding blackgaze-y stuff.

[8.0] - Solid indus-tinged dissonant black metal, more on the slow, measured, atmospheric side.

[8.0] - In The Silence-y emotional proggy/posty alt metal.

[8.0] - Really solid janky death metal with great riffs, strong solos, and interesting additional elements (e.g. occasional symphonics).

[8.0] - Another fun playful album from these guys.

[8.0] - Very likeable post-black/atmo-black sound.

[8.0] - Strong black metal with a propensity for surprise or quirkiness.

[8.0] - Monstruous mathy dissodeath grindcore.

[8.0] - Very enjoyable symphonic melodeath.

[8.0] - Another suitably trippy stoner doom effort.

[8.0] - Stoner doom that's heavy on the doom, has a bit of quirkiness and personality to it to distinguish itself from a lot of stoner doom.

[8.0] - Satisfying post-tinged black metal.

[8.0] - Some roughness in the production aside, I really enjoy this dreamy, post-y take on funeral doom.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Very strong post-metal EP.

[8.0] - Solid modern prog rock/indie/emo stuff that occasionally goes a bit heavier, to Dear Hunter or even more post-hardcore levels.

[8.0] - Strong LADLO black metal with melodic and religious elements.

[8.0] - Ballistic dissonant tech-death.

[8.0] - Evocative screamo-linked post-black.

[8.0] - Solid black metal with some nice acoustic/soft bits.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Well-made stoner prog album with some other styles also incorporated (post-rock, grunge).

[8.0] - Really cool dissonant black/death style.

[8.0] - Solid black metal debut with the kind of Schammasch-y atmosphere I reliably enjoy.

[8.0] - Very cool psychedelic space/ambient atmo-black.

[8.0]

[8.0] - High-quality monastic doom.

[8.0] - Cool exciting symphonic arrangements that complement the occasionally buried but mostly solid quasi-extreme metal; the 12-minute closer is excellent.

[8.0] - A solid return after a long while away.

[8.0] - On first listens, still a great band, but this perhaps is a step down from the last one.

[8.0] - Maybe overdoing the djent this time around, but has some great moments throughout the runtime.

[8.0] - Quasi-melodic, proggy black metal with some really great writing that keeps it consistently engaging.

[8.0] - Takes a bit of time to get going, but ultimately turns into a solid stoner doom album.

[8.0] - Classical elements dialled down a bit, a bit folkier, but more proggy atmo-black, with a somewhat Opethian epic track later on; a solid follow-up to the last album.

[8.0] - Top-tier early Blind Guardian worship.

[8.0] - Feisty math metal with Meshuggah, Frontierer and Car Bomb elements.

[8.0] - Infant Island-esque blackened screamo/post-hardcore; has some uplifting melodic parts but also fairly ballistic in its intensity.

[8.0] - Vile, evil dissonant blackened death metal.

[8.0] - Good Nordic doom with great vocals.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Solid prog-death follow-up to 2022's debut album.

[8.0] - Genre-bending mesh of grind, post-metal and other styles.

[8.0] - Post-rock and screamo have a lot of overlap these days, but not many bands are this vicious while still having the room for the lighter sounds.

[8.0] - Really pleasant vibe to this album, nice trippy electronics, gloomy soundscapes, occasional metallic touches, and haunting vocals.

[8.0] - Evocative and rich-sounding gothic melodeath/doom debut from Shape Of Despair members.

[8.0] - Quintessential 20 Buck Spin death/doom.

[8.0] - Peculiar, melodic, avant-garde, creative sound based in grindcore, cool release.

[8.0] - Suitably hellish dissonant black release.

[8.0] - Impressively creative and zany release, can occasionally spill over into being irksome though.

[8.0] - Intriguing combo of deathly prog and hard rock.

[8.0] - Absolutely filthy album.

[8.0] - Destructive hardcore-tinged sludge.

[8.0] - Creative, off-kilter disso-death.

[8.0] - Trumpet black metal still cool.

[8.0]

[8.0] - One of the strongest power metal bands around produces another great record.

[8.0] - Has trad doom aspects that take it away from my tastes, but it's very upper-tier for the genre.

[7.5] - The first properly engaging stoner release this year.

[7.5] - Putting this here for now, but prepared to move it up if they work their magic on me with future listens.

[7.5] - More matured and accomplished symphonic power sound, albeit lacks the uber-memorable standout songs of the debut.

[7.5] - Iamthemorning vocalist has solo debut that is very similar in style, vibe and quality to Iamthemorning.

[7.5] - On first listen, feels slightly insubstantial compared with Spiritual Instinct, but still nails their signature vibe.

[7.5] - Definitely plays to my tastes as djent-heavy prog-deathcore.

[7.5] - Nice mix of rock and doomy metal sounds, perhaps lacks a killer song like the last album had.

[7.5] - Any punk that may once have been here is definitely absent; this is melo/atmo-black bordering on blackgaze. It's very good though.

[7.5] - Very enjoyable prog sludge debut EP.

[7.5] - Another crushing wall of sound from the instrumental doomy sludge/stoner outfit, albeit with some surprising post-rock cues also woven in.

[7.5] - Tasty proggy stoner-sludge release with some post-hardcore leanings too, has satisfying convoluted songs with strong riffs.

[7.5] - Perhaps a tad more extreme than the last one, I'm impressed by the scope of this album, and it avoids overloading itself like the previous record.

[7.5] - Generic but very enjoyable post-metal sound.

[7.5] - As likely expected, a very pleasant and dreamy post-rock album crafted at a level above the competition.

[7.5] - Solid Amenra worship with hints from other bands and styles (particularly blackened tinges).

[7.5] - More Amenra-meets-Wolvennest than Martikor's straight Amenra worship, a bit more diverse but perhaps doesn't hit quite as intensely.

[7.5] - Powerful post-black more on the post- end of the spectrum.

[7.5] - Solid drone doom, can get quite lively for the genre in some moments.

[7.5] - A unique voice in alternative metal, although the album didn't hit quite as hard here compared with her live performances.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Tasty British sludge debut.

[7.5] - Seems to actually be a re-release of a 2023 EP, but I'm hearing it now; very effective drone doom/post-metal sound, nicely bleak and melancholic atmosphere.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Cool hard rock album with flirtations with heavier sounds - apparently features guests from Horndal, I can hear this as a lighter version of their sound.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Gazey post-y screamo, enjoy it a bit more in the dreamier moments.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Firmly above-average folk/black stuff, very enjoyable.

[7.5] - Solid follow-up album with features from melodeath, doom, black and post-metal, a bit reminiscent of Ghost Brigade.

[7.5] - Fairly conventional stoner rock/metal but quite a lot of fun, a bit of Truckfighters feel.

[7.5] - Slick, bubbly instrudjent with some very tasteful playing, particularly the more Spanish guitar bits.

[7.5] - Noisy, malevolent, mid-tempo noisy, dissonant sludge with mathcore tendencies.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Increasingly proggy and melodic brutal death, not quite at Cytotoxin levels yet in quality but I like it quite a bit.

[7.5] - A solid sludge album with some stoner, doom and post-metal leanings, but with plenty of tasty riffs.

[7.5] - Mixture of Sum Of R, Amenra, more visceral sludge and some stoner parts on this well-made debut.

[7.5] - Symphonic black/death with lots of neoclassical influences in the guitarwork, a rather fun album.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Prog thrash/death with a heavy emphasis on prog and a capacity for real extremity in moments.

[7.5] - Stirring, evocative doom in the vein of Healthyliving and Wolfecore acts; great haunting vocals and violin on the best songs.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid semi-melodic French black metal debut.

[7.5] - Solid proggy sludge with fiery tone when heavy.

[7.5] - Solid tech-y Black Dahlia Murder worship.

[7.5] - Solid atmo-black EP/demo.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Similar ballpark to The Keening, chamber music/doom mix with some heavy passages but also plenty of subdued tranquillity.

[7.5] - For such a heavy album, it's got a surprisingly light and melody-tinged vibe to it.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Nice djenty modern prog EP, perhaps not as great as the debut full-length.

[7.5] - Another solid combination of post-hardcore, post-metal and occasional blackgaze touches; perhaps not as immediately impressive as the last one.

[7.5] - By this point, their stoner/post/alt fusion has left stoner metal behind for the most part.

[7.5] - Solid prog/power that has strong influences from Kamelot and Seventh Wonder.

[7.5] - Exciting, hooky, intense meloblack.

[7.5] - Cool, darkly atmospheric psych/stoner-sludge doom.

[7.5] - Evocative blackened doom sound with some post- elements.

[7.5] - Gloomy yet tender 'soft doom'.

[7.5] - Fascinating mix of genres in avantgarde but not chaotic manner.

[7.5] - Cool modern prog album, has some math and post-hardcore influences alongside the metal, nice clean sound - just needs a bit more in the way of memorability to get to the next level.

[7.5] - Very entertaining organ/choir-heavy electronic metal.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Better production than the last album, and still a good demonstration of the band's melodic, blackened proggy songwriting.

[7.5] - Above-average proggy tech-death.

[7.5] - Cool black metally stuff with some occasional horror symphonic flourishes.

[7.5] - Solid black/death sound, can be bludgeoning and vicious, but also incorporates some atmosphere and melody.

[7.5]

[7.5] - A good album, but a bit less impressive than the last couple.

[7.5] - Intense, harrowing disso-death.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Pretty decent album, fairly accessible form of death metal with melodic and symphonic touches, but comes together well.

[7.5] - A very impressive album for a 55-year-old band.

[7.5] - Crunching sludgy metallic hardcore.

[7.5] - Very above-average for NWOBHM/hard rock stuff - great solos, good swagger to riffs.

[7.5] - Theatrical avant-garde/prog; has an oddness to it but isn't complete wackiness.

[7.5] - Strong rendition of this particular dirty melodeath-y style, albeit with song-by-song fluctuations in quality.

[7.5] - Rather enjoyable folk-tinged melodic black metal EP.

[7.5] - Bleak, angry sludge debut.

[7.5] - Rather enjoyable electronics-heavy prog stuff with a sound that's difficult to pin down.

[7.5] - Fairly typical post-rock/metal sound (Cult Of Luna, Moanaa), but a satisfying one.

[7.5] - Dissonant death metal of the hellish and world-crushing variety akin to Portal; contains Void Rot and Suffering Hour members.

[7.5] - A bit heavier than the last one, and with less vocal emphasis, but still very nice and evocative.

[7.5] - Tight, tasty, brooding sludgy post-metal.

[7.5] - First time checking Lascaille's Shroud out in a while, an accomplished mesh of extreme and more melodic progressive sounds.

[7.5] - Up-and-down swanky proggy sludge album with some great moments (and some more forgettable ones).

[7.5] - Fairly strong dissonant blackened death, bit too janky to get properly into.

[7.5] - Doomy prog melodeath with a relatively distinctive voice for the genre.

[7.5] - Nice quasi-black atmospheric stuff.

[7.5] - The guitar tone is a bit post-black, it works really well in adding some extra depth and character to this metallic hardcore, which also has some nice post-hardcore dynamics.

[7.5] - Grim sludge/death-doom.

[7.5] - Intriguing mix of indietronica/trip-hop and post-rock.

[7.5] - Proggy, black/death-tinged atmospheric metalcore, quite an intriguing mesh of sounds.

[7.5] - Solid proggy stoner metal, nice melodicism.

[7.5] - Another solid album by the band, and track 6 is a highlight, but perhaps not as noteworthy as the first two releases.

[7.5] - Mixture of blackened doom and dark acoustic folk stuff, the two extremes are a bit segregated musically but they're also well-balanced with one another.

[7.5] - Mathy, core-y alt metal, reminds me a bit of Puciato.

[7.5] - Amenra-ish spiritualistic post-black sound.

[7.5] - Promising debut EP from sludge/post- quasi-supergroup; production's not amazing.

[7.5] - Enjoyable but flawed folky proggy meloblack.

[7.5] - Blackgaze to a tee, but nice listening, and with some great lead guitar melodies.

[7.5] - Distinctive and intriguing prog-death from White Ward, Soen and other members.

[7.5] - Very respectable atmo-black.

[7.5] - Solid split and tasty preview of Autolith's debut album.

[7.5] - Really pleasant moody electronic/rock stuff.

[7.5] - A bit overly meandering at times, but has a good balance of the band's belligerent extremity and their exploration of softer tones.

[7.5] - Solid and emotional gothic doom, if perhaps overlong.

[7.5] - Solid screamo stuff.

[7.5] - Dark, brooding dub industrial electronica with harsh vox.

[7.5] - Solid melodeath/black EP, enjoy the tones used on it.

[7.5] - Very cool swirling psych rock.

[7.5] - Cool death metal album that's not overly death metal, takes cues from other modern genres and has some atmospheric aspects to it as well.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Ballistic, relentless onslaught of 00s Behemoth-esque blasting death metal.

[7.5] - Use of guest vocalist Elizabeth Hull on a couple of traacks elevates this above most instru-djent releases in enjoyability/memorability.

[7.5] - Quite cool prog rock that has Haken-y bits, but also draws from synthpop and other styles, and has a bright sound to it.

[7.5] - Above-average funeral doom with nice use of clean vocals and occasional surges of faster, more intense material.

[7.5] - Gazey atmo-black with some doomier moments.

[7.5] - Great artwork, enjoyable proggy post-hardcore album.

[7.5] - Good post-black album with sad melodic portions.

[7.5] - Music is a bit too stripped-down for my liking at times, but Gibbons' voice is as haunting as ever.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Fluctuates a bit in quality, but overall perhaps more enjoyable than the debut; when it's on form (e.g. on Συμπληγάδες), it's very interesting.

[7.5] - Fittingly grim, at-times droning, sludge.

[7.5] - Solid post-metal album, pretty conventional but not too much so; some of the guitar lead stuff and song evolutions remind me a bit of Cult Of Luna.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Ferocious, tasty blackened death.

[7.5] - Jagged blackened death venom that has offshoots into quiet prog meandering.

[7.5] - Conventional but solid black metal.

[7.5] - Grisly, cavernous death/doom.

[7.5] - The folk bits are good, could do with being more present; the meloblack is a bit by-the-numbers.

[7.5] - Bit too soporific and meandering in some places, but also has its moments.

[7.5] - Big-sounding heavy alt rock bordering on alt metal.

[7.5] - Could grow a bit more, but a fairly enchanting ambient industrial journey.

[7.5] - Novel-sounding mesh of black metal, doom, 'jazz' and dreamier sounds.

[7.5] - Gritty sludgy hardcore.

[7.5] - Similar bluesy vibe to recent Vulture Industries.

[7.5] - Generally strong and distinctive post/sludge sound akin to Helms Alee, albeit with some irksome quirks.

[7.5] - More nice synth-rock.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Nice sound, could've happily had more of it.

[7.5] - Respectable, at-times quite touching atmoblack.

[7.5] - Flickers between melodeath and meloblack, prefer the songs closer to the former.

[7.5] - Nice vibrant-sounding instru-djent/prog solo virtuoso stuff.

[7.5] - Super-tranquil neoclassical/post-rock.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Oddball release with a mesh of different extreme metal elements with some proggishness, and a gothic slant coming particularly from the vocals.

[7.5] - Fairly solid meloblack, not sure the twinkly keyboards make a positive impact.

[7.5] - Perhaps more death-oriented than thrash this time around, but solid sound.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Ballistic percussion and frenetic guitar runs on this proggy, at-times djenty, tech-death extravaganza.

[7.5] - Cool psych/stoner rock.

[7.5] - Proggy melodeath/doom, solid balance of melody and darkness.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Very fun TBDM-ish occasionally melodic death metal with lingering grindcore elements.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid melodeath EP, picks up as it progresses with some strong songs later on.

[7.5] - Solid blackened folk, doesn't rely on cheesy folk melodies but rather a rawer neofolk approach.

[7.5] - Cool black metal album, melodic-leaning but with some harsher moments, has some Primordial-ish spiritualness and occasional other quirks.

[7.5] - Rowdy, fun thrash EP with a well-made 11-minute song.

[7.5] - Decent enough pagan sound.

[7.5] - Above-average OSDM with solid solos and other melodic guitar elements.

[7.5] - Solid meloblack-y stuff, has good riffs and guitar lead hooks.

[7.5] - Rawish medieval-y black metal, cool enough, and occasionally has a touch of Wayfarer to it.

[7.5] - Pleasantly melodic and somewhat evocative prog-power with epic symphonic ending.

[7.5] - Fun doomy stoner with slight epic heavy edge.

[7.5] - Solid OSDM revival-style death.

[7.5] - Pretty cool, a bit stonerish.

[7.5] - Tech-deathcore, the bruising breakdowns (which are well above par) and occasional symph moments are a nice contrast to the techy riffing.

[7.5] - Decent depressive/atmo-black with some nice acoustic bits.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Pretty cool synthwave-y stuff with a couple of metallish songs at the beginning.

[7.5] - Black-tinged post-rock/metal, has nice softer parts.

[7.5] - Good sludge doom, doesn't offer enough to remain that engaging across its hefty runtime.

[7.5] - Solid dark industrial electronic collab with Dis Fig.

[7.5] - Cool synthwave release.

[7.5] - Groove-prioritizing death/djent sound, a bit dry but I quite dig it.

[7.5] - Catchy hyper-melodic black metal, I enjoyed it.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid post-black/gaze debut EP.

[7.5]

[7.5] - They pull off a 20-minute song surprisingly well.

[7.5] - If you're going to listen to brutal death, might as well be these guys, even if it feels closer to deathcore arguably.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Fairly strong post-y blackened doom.

[7.5] - Intriguing mix of proggy black/death metal with softer passages that bear a resemblance to post-2000 Katatonia.

[7.5] - Hard-to-pin-down meloblack/doom sound, enjoyable enough.

[7.5] - Nice-listening metal-tinged moody art pop/prog rock-style sound with involvement of Eluveitie/Faun members.

[7.5] - Intense zeuhl-y stuff.

[7.5] - Fun but par prog/tech-death, bit more enjoyable when it goes a bit more Vektor/Revocation-esque thrashy.

[7.5] - Catchy power metal, nice melodies, bit of a Cain's Offering vibe but also some USPM-style crunch at times, not an overload of cheese.

[7.5] - Unorthodox and fairly solid proggy black/death effort.

[7.5] - Fange are now firmly within the realm of industrial metal, and are all the better for it.

[7.5]

[7.5] - PT-ish mellow prog.

[7.5] - Melodeath additions to their OSDM are a positive, add a bit more character to their sound.

[7.5] - Nice, brief at-times folksy melodeath album, decent fun if not at all original.

[7.5] - Tasty black-tinged post/sludge EP.

[7.5] - Pleasant symphonic metal with nice songwriting, occasionally underwhelming vocals.

[7.5] - Intriguing goth/noise rock sound, cool atmosphere.

[7.5] - Nice melodic lead guitar work on this meloblack record.

[7.5] - Folk-tinged, power-ish, core-y melodeath, pretty catchy.

[7.5] - Cool deathy meloblack.

[7.5] - Decent return for these guys, but not quite as good as the debut album.

[7.5] - Cool droning psych rock.

[7.5] - Easy-going, likeable black-tinged folk metal with nice lead guitar parts.

[7.5] - Going a bit more ambient/atmospheric, works pretty well.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid thrashy black metal.

[7.5] - Cool alt rock album.

[7.5] - Playful mathy post-hardcore somewhat in the Swancore mould.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Slight tier above Abyssius as far as tech/melo/deathcore goes.

[7.5] - Good alt/sludgy/prog sound, didn't click with the songwriting quite like I would have hoped.

[7.5] - Mgla-linked project, the post-rock songs such as the title track are nice, the black metal less remarkable.

[7.5] - Gothic death/doom a bit more to my tastes than MDB.

[7.5] - Pretty extreme industrial metal with death, black and sludge elements.

[7.5] - Could dial down the glitchiness, but overall very soothing IDM/jungle.

[7.5] - Nice to hear a more compact iteration of their atmo-black sound.

[7.5] - Black-tinged gothic-y doom with a Wolvennest vibe to it, not to the same level but still decent.

[7.5] - Variation in styles doesn't always play to my tastes with the more direct synthpop tracks, but the more ethereal or moody songs I dig quite a bit.

[7.5] - A bit of an uneven listen, but when it's on, it has nice vibes and solid guitarwork, including some enjoyable solos.

[7.5] - Nice violin-heavy folk sound; very Nordic-sounding for a Turkish band.

[7.5] - Gloomy gothic death/doom, better than their last album.

[7.5] - Tasty death-tinged grindcore.

[7.5] - Good grim sludgy split.

[7.5] - Fun long-form psych/stoner rock/metal songs.

[7.5] - Oddball grindcore with some proggier moments with clean singing.

[7.5] - A bit Abraham-y in the sludge mix with more noise rock sounds; don't love the vocals, but otherwise it's pretty solid.

[7.5] - Very pleasant acoustic folk.

[7.5] - Creative and unpredictable black metal, with some wild chaotic stuff and some more straightforward accessible parts.

[7.0] - Enjoyable rendition of a Scar Symmetry-ish sound.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Very conventional but still tasty symph-blackened deathcore.

[7.0] - Straight Nightwish worship, but rather likeable and catchy worship.

[7.0] - Proper Gothenburg, good fun.

[7.0] - Good prog-tinged post-metal debut EP.

[7.0] - Generally par but quite enjoyable symph-deathcore; I like the Heafy cameo.

[7.0] - Fun bass-only instrumental prog album; has a modern prog solo act vibe, including soloing styles.

[7.0] - One of the better power metal releases of 2024 thus far, has some spirit and hookiness to it on top of the cheese.

[7.0] - Enjoyably death-y groove metal with some faint folk elements.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Some Mastodon hints in this proggy sludge; has solid passages, but also some songs or moments that miss the mark a tad.

[7.0] - I liked their previous one quite a bit, but I found this to be rather samey with unmemorable riffs to elevate a fairly solid core sound.

[7.0] - Fun heavy/psych rock, occasionally veers more towards doom metal or stoner rock (latter particularly on Jesus Wept).

[7.0] - Blacky/deathy stuff with some cool guitar leads; quite conventional-sounding for Voidhanger.

[7.0] - Pleasant gothicky stuff.

[7.0] - Fairly solid melodically inclined quasi-black/death stuff.

[7.0] - Electronic nu jazz spin-off from Epitaphe, remarkably different sound to that band; they're great at the nu jazz, but the drone is a bit too sparse.

[7.0] - (Mostly) instrumental drone doom, pretty solid.

[7.0] - Cool psych rock jam.

[7.0] - Fun punky sludge.

[7.0] - Nifty black metal/occult rock fusion let down slightly by the vocals.

[7.0] - Cool mathcore EP, would happily have more of the same sound for longer.

[7.0] - Above-average enjoyment of this alt rock.

[7.0] - Quite nice accessible prog that feels like a midpoint between Evergrey and modern Katatonia, but with some growls in there too.

[7.0] - Djenty stuff, mixture of straight Meshuggah worship and some oddball parts, with saxophone or clean vocals, some of it works pretty cool, some of it not so well.

[7.0] - Cool hard rock with good lead vocalist and nice guitarwork.

[7.0] - Solid energy and catchiness to this lively heavy/power album, and enjoy the new vocalist.

[7.0] - Following in the vein of Mesarthim, this feels like a similar case of an interesting sound that doesn't sustain my interest for a whole album's length.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Jawharp grind stuff, pretty original, fairly enjoyable.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Surprisingly easy-going for a band with this name, I do find the folk side to it makes it fairly enjoyable, even if it does recycle from past efforts.

[7.0] - Pleasantly catchy, the slight sci-fi vibes and prog touches are nice, a bit too much of it is mid-tempo for my tastes.

[7.0] - Nice ambient black-ish stuff, bit Midnight Odyssey/Summoning-esque.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Neat proggy, doomy instrumental stuff.

[7.0] - Intriguing mix of blackened thrash, folk/viking and other styles; don't really hear melodeath.

[7.0] - Odd doom split.

[7.0] - Lively, driving trad metal with an infectious energy for the style.

[7.0] - Less death, more doom with death elements (but not death-doom), it's quite interesting.

[7.0] - Very thrashy power metal.

[7.0] - Above-average solo guitar album, can go pretty hard at times, but also be quite mellow.

[7.0] - Interesting soft modern prog rock kinda sound.

[7.0] - Nice gloomy melodeath-tinged doom sound.

[7.0] - Overlong but cool instrumental heavy psych rock record.

[7.0] - Good black metal with a slight ritualistic vibe due to some chanting vocals, otherwise not much in the way of clearly distinguishing features.

[7.0] - Longer, more extreme split than the one BLROW did with Crowskin.

[7.0] - Tad overlong, but decent stoner-tinged doom.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Electronic with rock parts, generally very nice but with some soporific parts.

[7.0] - Gnarly Bile Caster-style churning sludge doom.

[7.0] - Eerie ambient black metal.

[7.0] - Pretty decent heavy/power sound, nice epic but not cheesy touch.

[7.0] - Fairly straightforward grindcore, but the longer song runtimes does allow them to be a bit meatier.

[7.0] - Fairly accomplished re-recordings of thrashy, doomy stoner/sludge songs.

[7.0] - A decent amount of diversity across the album, some electronic and drone stuff amidst the grindcore.

[7.0] - There's a jankiness to quite a lot of this that I find offputting, but when it's on the right track it serves up some cool moments.

[7.0] - Has a few iffy bits (really not keen on the excessive technicality in parts of Face Of Fear), but still above par as far as the non-symphonic deathcore scene goes.

[7.0] - Fallujah-ish tech-melo-deathcore sound, pretty decent but nowhere near Fallujah's level.

[7.0] - It's quite an interesting (if very cheesy) power meloblack sound, sadly not quite connecting with the songs as I would like.

[7.0] - Fairly solid tech-thrash with death leanings; can be dry in parts, but sections like the second half of Outer Phase are impressive.

[7.0] - Intriguing horror-influenced doomy extreme symphonic metal.

[7.0] - Decent hardcore with a bit of variety, both veering towards grindcore and slightly more 'melodic' tones.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - More competent yet slightly forgettable Summoning-meets-Saor 'epic' folky atmo-black.

[7.0] - Fairly enjoyable light gothic sound.

[7.0] - Intriguing mesh of extreme and progressive styles, spans a range of sounds including prog black and Mesarthim-like soundscapes; a bit unrefined structurally, but a good listen.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fairly unusual operatic black metal sound, but perhaps riding the concept a bit too much without the level of songwriting to completely back it up.

[7.0] - Melodic death doom with some stoner and other elements; has some cool peaks, but occasionally drags.

[7.0] - Decent, high-octane death metal that straddles older and newer sounds.

[7.0] - Nicely moody synthy industrial stuff.

[7.0] - Nice blackgaze that does a good job of capturing the more hushed nature of shoegaze in its softer moments in a way a lot of blackgaze doesn't.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fine black metal split, some cool hooks/melodies on Wormwitch side, not as keen on the thrashy Sadistic Ritual.

[7.0] - Folky gothic EP.

[7.0] - More a Western soundtrack-style album than a rock one, a bit overlong but has a nice chill vibe.

[7.0] - Curious pivot from world music-infused funeral doom to world music-infused drone; works fairly well.

[7.0] - More interesting when in frantic grindy mode than beatdown brutal death mode, but a fun enough album.

[7.0] - Nothing original, but nicely fuzzy and rocking.

[7.0] - Nice atmosphere, slightly plodding funeral doom.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Brief, gnarly, churning melodeath with an OSDM guitar tone and style, but also neat melodies in riffs and guitar leads.

[7.0] - Interested post-y blackened doom with some cool dark jazz detours.

[7.0] - Pretty solid techy melodeath EP.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Enjoyable blackened deathcore, not necessarily a standout but a good listen for the most part.

[7.0] - Slightly bland but mostly enjoyable 'folky' (light on folk) melodeath.

[7.0] - Sludge EP from Aversio Humanitatis frontman; fairly par for the course.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fun enough sludge EP, softer stonerish final song is cool.

[7.0] - Nice atmo-black opening song, decent ambient second song.

[7.0] - The mix of poppy dreamy moments and Devin-style ambience with djenty instrumentation is intriguing and different, I don't quite dig the songwriting as much as I would like to, however.

[7.0] - Slightly doomy, slightly power metally, good soaring vocals with a Kiske edge.

[7.0] - Fun if rudimentary take on synthwave-metal.

[7.0] - Intriguing black-tinged occult rock/heavy metal sound.

[7.0] - Quite tasty symph-meloblack with dual harsh/operatic vocals.

[7.0] - Another oddball Voidhanger-core fusion of extreme and dissonant styles, but this time I'm less convinced by it - parts of it just feel unimpactful and jarring for jarring's sake.

[7.0] - Decent instrumental post-rock/post-metal.

[7.0] - Doomy, rocking sludge-lite-lite.

[7.0] - Cool retro-style rock with doomy guitar tone and perhaps slight stoner edge, but hard rock first and foremost.

[7.0] - Fairly good but unremarkable tech-death.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Brutal deathgrind - relentless, but for full-pelt deathgrind, fairly good.

[7.0] - Fairly decent core-y melodeath, doesn't impress as much as the last one on first listens.

[7.0] - Somewhat interesting proggy hard rock/metal, kinda Ghost-y.

[7.0] - Straightforward, enjoyable but unexceptional black metal.

[7.0] - Droning post-/experimental rock with occasional metallic moments, bit more interesting than their other recent ones.

[7.0] - Synth-heavy melo/atmo-black with some blackgaze-y parts, has a bit of an epic heavy vibe to moments too.

[7.0] - Not easy to categorize; initially starts off a bit plinky-plonky ominous horror, but becomes more mellow and hushed minimalist country later - not metal, but pretty cool.

[7.0] - Seems to be a stylistic departure based on folk metal genre tags on their profile, it's kinda interesting psych/space/ambient rock.

[7.0] - Annoying title aside, pretty good (post-)hardcore/noise rock.

[7.0] - Somewhat fun folk stuff, some iffy melodies in there.

[7.0] - Dirty sludge, has a general satisfying gnarly swagger to it, but a bit characterless.

[7.0] - Above-average trad-style heavy, much more tolerable than Accept or Saxon's latest.

[7.0] - Pleasant, if slightly unmemorable, heavy post-rock.

[7.0] - Nice fem-fronted gothic doom EP.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fairly relentless black metal, but has melodic touches in some riffs and some nice melodic guitar leads.

[7.0] - Somewhat enjoyable neofolky metal, moderately tempo'd, has some nice Amorphis-ish guitar melodies.

[7.0] - Typically misanthropic noise/sludge album on Human Worth.

[7.0] - Their sludge/industrial hip-hop blend works better for me this time.

[7.0] - Post/sludge instrumental debut with some solid moments, but occasionally loses its way a bit.

[7.0] - Gothic-lite with long songs, easy listening.

[7.0] - Decent mix of industrial metal and ominous ambient electronica.

[7.0] - Has some rather nice tracks, particularly the closer, but slightly unremarkable gothic d/d in a year with a strong MDB release.

[7.0] - Bit bloated and dry in parts, but has some filthy riffing as well.

[7.0] - Grind-tinged black metal, decent quick fun.

[7.0] - Grind that veers into death, hardcore and noise rock.

[7.0] - Decent retro-style doom/hard rock.

[7.0] - Unexceptional but decent black metal.

[7.0] - Death metal with a modern metal slant to the riffing and production.

[7.0] - Cheesy but fun extreme power/folk.

[7.0] - Black-by-numbers, but sounds good enough.

[7.0] - On the grindcore/hardcore threshold, I enjoy it when it slows down for some chonky riffs.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Decent heavy metal with speed/power elements, slightly variable song quality.

[7.0] - Fairly good celestial-y black metal, albeit I found myself losing attention as it went on.

[7.0] - Short but enjoyable fem-fronted trad-style metal.

[7.0] - Decent, but wasn't taken with it like I was the previous album.

[7.0] - More fairly enjoyable thrashy black n roll.

[7.0] - Has some very nice parts, overall doesn't make a huge impact.

[7.0] - Bit more extreme and bit more characterful than a lot of instrudjent, still not too compelling.

[7.0] - Slightly oddball noise rock/stoner/psych/prog rock crossover.

[7.0] - Evergrey-ish emotional prog, OK but not great.

[7.0] - Semi-abrasive noise rock/sludge, cool in parts.

[7.0] - Like the last one, meloblack that is fine but unmemorable.

[7.0] - Competent power-tinged prog in Teramaze/Seventh Wonder vein - has some rather nice moments, but didn't engage me as a complete package.

[7.0] - The blackened edges help elevate it a bit.

[7.0] - Intense doomy death, a step up from the debut.

[7.0] - A bit of an underwhelming listen after a few really decent albums.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Classic-sounding prog metal with modern aspects too, decent enough.

[7.0] - Fairly good doom with mixed clean/growled vocals.

[7.0] - Symph-black with elaborate piano/symphs and non-melodic black metal.

[7.0] - Melodish black metal with folky aspects and synths; fine but forgettable.

[7.0] - Wild cybergrind, pretty cool in quite a few moments, but also can be grating at other times.

[7.0] - Rather unremarkable as funeral doom, but turns more interesting when it gets sludgier.

[7.0] - WASP-y hard rock/metal, overlong but quite fun.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Kinda macho BS and dry, but has some good moments.

[7.0] - Unremarkable post-hardcore that occasionally reaches greater heights.

[7.0] - Decent retro doom.

[7.0] - Metalcore/melodeath that's frequently enjoyable, but also occasionally underwhelming.

[7.0] - Enjoyable melodic mix of alt-metal, hard rock and post-hardcore.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Pretty good folk, mostly enjoyable with some nice melodies.

[7.0] - Pleasantly melodic proggy alt-metal, a bit lacking in impact.

[7.0] - Vocals could be better, but hefty heavy/USPM with darker hints.

[7.0] - Above-average femme-fronted symphonic with good vocals and nice instrumentation, and relatively memorable songs.

[7.0] - Mildly enjoyable symph-y melodeath with some flaws.

[7.0] - Easy-listening melodic alt metal EP.

[7.0] - Decent 80s electronic throwback, some goth stuff, some new wave synthpop, some tasty techno.

[7.0] - The kind of experimental approach that can regularly miss the mark, but does also deliver some very cool moments.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Mathy djentcore EP, enjoyable enough.

[7.0] - Somewhat erratic mix of black metal styles, consistency between songs is low but there's some solid material here.

[7.0] - Decent, but not my favourite take on a sludge/noise rock fusion.

[7.0] - Oddball extreme metal with death and black elements; it's good, but weird more than enjoyable.

[7.0] - Perhaps overlong, but quite pleasant metal-lite dainty symphonic stuff.

[7.0] - Decent USPM supergroup.

[7.0] - Decent yet perhaps inconsistent acoustic-heavy dreamy blackgaze/atmo-black, goes a bit Porcupine Tree at times.

[7.0] - Atmo-ish black of fluctuating quality.

[7.0] - Bit too much cheese, bit too little memorability, but it's alright.

[7.0] - Harsh, dense, industrial noise, a punishing listen but has enough of an industrial electronic side to be somewhat approachable.

[7.0] - OSDM with a bit of a Carcass semi-melodic edge.

[7.0] - Very typical-sounding OSDM, but just about accomplished enough to be above average; lesser than the Skeletal Remains album though.

[7.0] - Pretty much everything you'd expect from Rhapsody Of Fire, and competently made, but a bit low on memorability for the most part.

[7.0] - Better than their last few.

[7.0] - A couple of fun new songs, but not at the level of their best ones.

[7.0] - Proggy, deathcore-y tech-death, it's alright but a bit dry.

[7.0] - Dialled down the insanity a tad; basically blackgaze with some overexuberant passages.

[7.0] - Frantic, entertaining thrashy hardcore.

[7.0] - Decent symph-deathcore.

[7.0] - Pleasant but twee post-rock.

[7.0] - Tranquil Alcest-core with some unexpected detours into Mesarthim-ish synthy doom.

[7.0] - Bit low on memorability compared with the last one.

[7.0] - Fairly meaty grindcore with some surprises up its sleeve, chiefly the Pailhead punk cover.

[7.0] - Interesting take on doom that borrows from classic sounds while also incorporating hints of more modern and extreme styles, but damn the vocals get irritating at times.

[7.0] - Starts off pretty good, does veer towards slightly unremarkable Nightwish worship as it progresses.

[7.0] - Black metal, good enough to listen to but won't have you coming back.

[6.5]

[6.5]

[6.5] - Takes a bit too long to get going really, but I like the final track or two.

[6.5] - Decent symph-tinged death sound.

[6.5] - First song is good; otherwise, like it more than some Melvins stuff but still not a big fan.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Fine but unremarkable gaze-y atmoblack.

[6.5] - Perfectly listenable blackened heavy stuff with some decent riffs; I just don't care enough about this band.

[6.5] - Slightly above-average, but bar some growls, fairly ordinary stoner stuff.

[6.5] - Full album is a tad dull.

[6.5] - Tad threadbare as far as acoustic neofolk pivots go.

[6.5] - Meloblack/power-y/folky side project from SIG:AR:TYR guy, decent enough.

[6.5] - Incredibly harsh and cacophonic ambient black metal that borders on noise; it's pretty unique, but very unenjoyable to listen to, and the higher-pitched note lines just offer nothing for me.

[6.5] - Synthwave metal fusion - bit of a rudimentary fusion, but decent fun and has some solid moments.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Decent death doom side and less remarkable OSDM side.

[6.5] - Satisfactory but slightly by-the-by sludge.

[6.5] - Grungy stoner-ish rock, vocalist has quite a powerful voice, but don't super love the sound.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Fairly satisfying Europower that occasionally dips its toes into slightly higher intensities; doesn't quite grip me though.

[6.5] - Very competent but generic prog sound that I just find a bit dry and forgettable.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Fairly straight-nosed grindcore, but has some oddball weirdness to some tracks, and also the cinematic snippets give it a bit more personality.

[6.5] - B-rate Kvelertak, still decent but don't love it, and has a few slightly pants songs.

[6.5]

[6.5] - This sludge is suitably swaggering and dirty-sounding, but I just find it a tad dry.

[6.5] - DSBM split, fine but unmemorable, apart from the irksome vocals on the Dysthymia song.

[6.5] - Pretty competent thrashy heavy metal with Trivium touches that are quite tasty, followed by intriguing symphonic-influenced heavy stuff with some nifty leads; bit overlong as a double album.

[6.5] - Somewhat compelling atmosphere, but found this somewhat monotonous.

[6.5] - Reasonably good Italian power stuff, not particularly on the cheesy end of the spectrum.

[6.5] - Industrial/ambient double album; the industrial side has some cool songs and some filler, the ambient side is pretty disposable.

[6.5] - Presumably hits harder live given their reputation, found this pretty unremarkable on album.

[6.5]

[6.5] - I seem to remember moderately enjoying the previous album, but I find this one to be very dry and unengaging death-thrash.

[6.5] - Pleasant but not overly compelling folk metal.

[6.5] - Thrash completely in the thrash mould, but fairly lively for such a generic sound.

[6.5] - Somewhat dull yet competently made trad doom - found some of the vocal melodies to be the biggest turnoff.

[6.5] - Very catchy but overlong Amaranthe-y power metal - probably a 7 with a bit of self-editing.

[6.5] - Never been fond of these guys, this album is fine but does have plenty of cheese.

[6.5] - Somewhere between Amaranthe and prog, with the most tenuous connection to symphonic metal.

[6.5] - Folky, doomy stuff, just a bit lightweight soundwise.

[6.5] - Slightly cheesy melodeath/metalcore sound.

[6.5] - Brutal dissonant tech-death; has cool parts, but a bit too hectic for its own good, and the more brutal death/deathcore parts are a bit meh.

[6.5] - Oddball but interesting polyrhythmic noisy industrial-y stuff.

[6.5] - Alright Spanish power metal, decent vocalist.

[6.5] - It's just stoner doom, but it's aite; has occasional sick moments like the end of the title track.

[6.5] - Stoner/psych rock split; prefer Kazak's stoner.

[6.5] - The blackened surf rock sound is intriguing, but doesn't feel fully explored.

[6.5] - Adequate meloblack, fine for a listen but doesn't stick in the memory.

[6.5] - Just a bit eh.

[6.5] - Pretty generic melodeath, passingly enjoyable.

[6.5] - Straightforward and unspectacular, but a decent rendition of their sound.

[6.5] - Fairly unremarkable but reasonably groovy brutal death(core).

[6.5]

[6.5]