Thumbs up: +9 RaduP AndyMetalFreak Zap Alex F Khold Baroness Bjamm javierel22 Meteorandaz Killian

With 600-odd albums across Q1 and Q2, I've gotten through marginally less than last year so far, let's see if I keep that up Created by: musclassia | 05.07.2024 1. Blighted Eye - Agony's Bespoke [8.5] - More excellent extreme prog in 2024, a fantastic and exhilarating effort for a debut - fantastic lead guitar work and a riff conveyor belt. 2. A Swarm Of The Sun - An Empire [8.5] - The Pyre is fairly awe-inspiring, and this duo's bleak, emotionally heavy post-rock/metal borderline sound is great as ever, despite the hefty album length. 3. Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere [8.5] - The Death Floyd answer to Enslaved's Black Floyd, a great evolution for them. 4. Anciients - Beyond The Reach Of The Sun [8.0] - A grower, and a very welcome return from these sludgy prog giants. 5. Laudare - Requiem [8.0] - The latest chamber/hardcore/metal fusion, and a very accomplished one at that. 6. Thy Catafalque - XII: A Gyönyörű Álmok Ezután Jönnek [8.0] - Another evolution for the band, generally mellower sound that's accessible and enjoyable, slightly behind Vadak in pathos and Naiv in fun. 7. Septaria - A* [8.0] - Perhaps overlong, but some very solid Gojira-esque prog that nails the heavier parts and also does quite well with the softer tracks. 8. Piah Mater - Under The Shadow Of A Foreign Sun [8.0] - Very Opethian prog-death, generally very solid. 9. Ershetu - Yomi [8.0] - Despite the move from Mesoamerica to Japan, the inspiration in this project has not waned. 10. Moriya - The Black Nail Tantra [8.0] - On first listen, solid follow-up to excellent debut; seems to be vocal-less this time around. 11. Ubiquity - The Ascendant Travels Among The Stars [8.0] - More excellent Opeth worship. 12. Iotunn - Kinship [8.0] - Strong successor to the debut, Aldara's vocals are the highlight, but there's a good balance of melodicism and extreme metal elements. 13. Delving - All Paths Diverge [8.0] - More dreamy Elder-lite goodness from DiSalvo. 14. Kalandra - A Frame Of Mind [8.0] - Fades out a bit, but some really nice stuff in the first two-thirds. 15. Schammasch - The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean [8.0] - An interesting evolution, a bit lighter and more use of clean vocals; not everything hits the mark, but there's a really particular atmosphere that they create that still pulls me in here. 16. Ott - Hiraeth [8.0] - Good fun vibes to this, like with Heads. 17. Five The Hierophant - Apeiron [8.0] - Solid extension of previous album's style. 18. Lowen - Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran [8.0] 19. Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja [8.0] - Slightly more cacophonic follow-up to Mesterin Kynsi. 20. Yoo Doo Right - From The Heights Of Our Pastureland [8.0] - Gone more post-rock compared with last albums, but pulls it off very well; slight modern Elder/Delving edge at times. 21. Mother Of Graves - The Periapt Of Absence [8.0] - Really nicely melodic death/doom. 22. Pincer Consortium - Geminus Schism [8.0] - Frenetic, varied cacophony of black, death, industrial and other metal styles. 23. Luck Wont Save You - Through The Mountains Of Melancholia [8.0] - Cool BTBAM-esque prog-deathcore. 24. Blindead 23 - Vanishing [8.0] - Bit heavy on the ambience in the final track, but a great return from half of the Affliction-era Blindead line-up. 25. Octoploid - Beyond The Aeons [8.0] - Olli-Pekka Laine resurrects the sound of Elegy-era Amorphis quite sumptuously here. 26. Assemble The Chariots - Ephemeral Trilogy Episode 1: Unyielding Night [8.0] - Exuberant symphonic deathcore/melodeath with extravagant arrangements, one of the best albums in the style in the recent years. 27. A Wake In Providence - I Write To You, My Darling Decay [8.0] - Very good symphonic deathcore/prog-death with very decent clean vocals. 28. Still - A Theft [8.0] - Gone more disso-black here, and pretty intense and gripping. 29. Untervoid - Parasite [8.0] - Strong black(ened) metal release with melodic and avant-garde hints. 30. Papangu - Lampi​ã​o Rei [8.0] - Zeuhl metal still sounds great second time around. 31. Vile Rites - Senescence [8.0] - Solid prog/techy death with punishing dissonance in the heavier moments. 32. Whispering Void - At The Sound Of The Heart [8.0] - Folk/post-rock fusion with occasional metal leanings from Enslaved, Wardruna and Trelldom alumni. 33. Eye Eater - Alienate [8.0] - Post-tinged dissonant blackened death with good riffs and strong atmospherics. 34. Kanonenfieber - Die Urkatastrophe [8.0] - No-frills riff frenzy. 35. Gaerea - Coma [8.0] - The band's bold evolution continues with mostly successful results. 36. Tenue - Arcos, Bó​vedas, Pó​rticos [8.0] - Chunky black-tinged screamo with some great genre diversions. 37. Defacement - Duality [8.0] - Intense, exhilarating dissonant blackened death. 38. Norna - Norna [8.0] - Nicely brooding and ominous post-metal. 39. Devenial Verdict - Blessing Of Despair [8.0] - Strong dissonance-infused prog death. 40. Aluk Todolo - Lux [8.0] - More cool hypnotic trippiness, with a bit more dissonance than e.g. Oranssi Pazuzu. 41. Officium Triste - Hortus Venenum [8.0] - Very solid d/d with great melodic lead guitar parts. 42. Amiensus - Reclamation: Part 2 [8.0] - Strong melodicism and variety; much better than Abreaction and possibly the best since Restoration. 43. Obeyer - Chemical Well [8.0] - Finally some proper tasty djent this year. 44. Dreamless Veil - Every Limb Of The Flood [8.0] - Strong debut from quasi-supergroup playing disso-tinged black/death. 45. Deamonolith - The Monolithic Cult Of Death [8.0] - Solid, adventurous death metal one-song album. 46. Vola - Friend Of A Phantom [8.0] - Less eclectic than the last album, but smooth and warm. 47. Sergeant Thunderhoof - The Ghost Of Badon Hill [8.0] - Very similar mix of fuzzy, emotional and occasionally cheesy as the last album had. 48. Mitochondrion - Vitriseptome [8.0] - Bit too long for me, but impressively gargantuan and chaotic death metal onslaught. 49. Siderean - Spilling The Astral Chalice [8.0] - Proggier than Vile Rites, but this is unapologetically (and frequently dissonant) death metal around the progginess. 50. Other World - Tenebrous [8.0] - Enjoyable ritualistic slant to parts of this solid black metal album. 51. Generation Of Vipers - Guilt Shrine [8.0] - Tasty hardcore-leaning sludge, songs are angry and heavy but still have groove. 52. Sur Austru - Datura Străhiarelor [8.0] - More Negura Bunget-esque than I remember their previous efforts being, I'm enjoying this quite a bit. 53. Yoth Iria - Blazing Inferno [8.0] - Fun, catchy meloblack-lite. 54. Akhlys - House Of The Black Geminus [8.0] - Exquisitely intense and hellish atmosphere, strong use of guitar leads. 55. Shadow And Claw - Whereabouts Unknown [8.0] - Blackened and stoner hints in an atmospheric sludge sound, it works really well together. 56. Pure Reason Revolution - Coming Up To Consciousness [8.0] 57. Wintersun - Time II [8.0] - Divorced from the drama surrounding its creation, this is a very good epic extreme power album, albeit with less memorable songwriting than the self-titled debut or Iron. 58. Bloody Valkyria - Kingdom In Fire [8.0] 59. Tribulation - Sub Rosa In Æternum [8.0] 60. Alarum - Recontinue [8.0] - Bit too shred-oriented for my tastes, but finds a good balance between jazzy tech-death (has some proper Cynic moments), proggy shredding and tech-death intensity. 61. Trelldom - .​.​.​By The Shadows​.​.​. [8.0] - Quite fascinating black-tinged jazz metal sound. 62. Black Sites - The Promised Land? [8.0] - Clearly one of the most interesting new bands at present that falls under the 'heavy metal' umbrella, the progginess and general distinctiveness of the songwriting stand out. 63. Isaurian - The Pulsing Rush [8.0] - Maybe best album yet from them; still got that Jesu gaziness but more post-metallic and has some great songs/memorable moments. 64. Monolithe - Black Hole District [8.0] 65. Typhonian - The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond [8.0] - Well-crafted death metal album with black metal hints and successful ventures into more expansive, progressive and melodic writing near the end of the album. 66. The Mantle - Violent Cosmic Fortune [8.0] - Accomplished, compelling prog death album heavy on the prog. 67. Dungeon Crawl - Maze Controller [8.0] - Really fun 'symphonic thrash' sound. 68. Nyktophobia - To The Stars [8.0] - Typical-sounding but upper-tier Finnish-sounding melodeath from Germany. 69. Silhouette - Les Dires De L'âme [8.0] - At-times gazey, occasionally fierce, often tranquil melo/atmo-black that shines due to the heavy clean vocal presence. 70. In Aphelion - Reaperdawn [8.0] 71. Cold Cell - Age Of Unreason [7.5] - Solid black metal with a very neat incursion into post-black territory with clean vocals on Meaningless. 72. Carnosus - Wormtales [7.5] - Solid techy death metal base with nice melodic/atmospheric/proggy hints to elevate songs. 73. The Flight Of Sleipnir - Nature's Cadence [7.5] - Another impressive effort in genre-blending. 74. Leprous - Melodies Of Atonement [7.5] - Somewhere between Malina and Aphelion in heaviness and complexity, finds a good balance of a more metallic edge with the band's recent exploration of electronics and art-pop stylings. 75. Symphony Of Heaven - Oro Aurum Archeia [7.5] - Very respectable melodeath with some great songs, riffs and solos, just a smidge shy of the next level due to consistency. 76. Kozoria - The Source [7.5] - A few moments that go awry, but the Gojira/Trivium-influenced symphonic alt/prog sound produces some great moments. 77. Veuve - Pole [7.5] - Nice mix of stoner metal, psychedelic rock, and shoegaze/post- tendencies; not convinced by the beginning, but it really gets into its stride with the longer tracks. 78. Fit For An Autopsy - The Nothing That Is [7.5] - A bit more melodic and a bit djentier than the last album; a few misses, but some really strong hits. 79. Ottone Pesante - Scrolls Of War [7.5] - Cool brass metal sound. 80. Glare Of The Sun - TAL [7.5] - Typical but very well-crafted post-metal. 81. Better Lovers - Highly Irresponsible [7.5] - Nice 'spiritual successor to Dillinger Escape Plan' sound. 82. Codespeaker - Scavenger [7.5] - Solid post-metal with some exciting heavy-hitting moments. 83. Whale Fall - Five [7.5] - Fun, lively, occassionally heavy post-rock. 84. Slomosa - Tundra Rock [7.5] - Very solid stoner rock verging on stoner metal. 85. Winterfylleth - The Imperious Horizon [7.5] - Another solid effort from this band with a good baseline level of enjoyment along with occasional great highlights. 86. One With The Riverbed - Succumb [7.5] - Well-made post-black that doesn't fall easily into any particular niche. 87. Civerous - Maze Envy [7.5] - Gnarly guitar tone elevates OSDM passages, but more interesting when it goes in blackened and atmospheric directions. 88. Ingurgitating Oblivion - Ontology Of Nought [7.5] - Cacophonic, frenzied, oddball death metal; a bit too cacophonic for my liking at times, but the solos are a lot of fun, and the proggier inclinations (see middle of To Weave The Tapestry Of Nought) work well too. 89. Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All [7.5] - Pretty fierce and tasty, one of their better ones in a while. 90. Tellmarch - Tellmarch [7.5] - Brief yet strong mix of doom, sludge, black and core sounds. 91. SoftSun - Daylight In The Dark [7.5] - Soothing psych rock with very mellow vibes. 92. Thaw - Fading Backwards [7.5] - Pretty sick black/drone/noise mix. 93. God Is An Astronaut - Embers [7.5] - Classic GIAA, one of their best in a while; title track is a highlight. 94. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead - Tragedy As Catharsis [7.5] - Fierce, exciting emoviolence, bit mathy in parts. 95. Sans Froid - Hello, Boil Brain [7.5] - Quirky but accessible and enjoyable art-rock. 96. Weather Systems - Ocean Without A Shore [7.5] - Concerns over Daniel Cavanagh aside, it's a well-written and well-produced album in a similar vein to Weather Systems that shapes up quite favourably to the Anathema records that followed it. 97. Ensiferum - Winter Storm [7.5] - Doesn't have the peaks of Thalassic, but it continues a relative revival for the group after the underwhelming 2010s they had. 98. Maitreya (CAN) - Auxesis [7.5] - Bit thin in places, but overall found it to be a really nice modern prog/djent album with pleasant melodic textures. 99. Stoort Neer - Essensen Av Sm​ä​rta, Reflektion Och återh​ä​mtning [7.5] - Brief but impactful atmospheric black-tinged hardcore onslaught. 100. Ceremony Of Silence - H​á​lios [7.5] - Chonky dissonant blackened death with nice atmospheric aspects. 101. Black Aleph - Apsides [7.5] - Cool Middle Eastern-influenced drone/doom/folk sound, bit Wyatt E/Om-esque. 102. The Pineapple Thief - Last To Run [7.5] - Some of the most enjoyable TPT songs I've heard. 103. Oryx - Primordial Sky [7.5] - Pretty cool album with long-form sludge doom songs. 104. Sinistro - Vértice [7.5] - Cool doomy post-metal with strong vocals and dramatic flair. 105. Cursed Cemetery - Magma Transmigration [7.5] - Pretty tasty drone doom. 106. Blackevil - Praise The Communion Fire For The Unhallowed Sacrament [7.5] - Rampant blackened thrash with exciting tonality. 107. The Death Of Money - Error After Era [7.5] - Distinctive and intriguing post-y sludge sound. 108. Suidakra - DarkanakraD [7.5] - Solid melodeath/folk. 109. Trollwar - Tales From The Frozen Wastes [7.5] - Very typical Finnish folk/melodeath EP, but also very enjoyable. 110. Ever Forthright - Techinflux [7.5] 111. Favna Abisal - La Casa De Los Siete Espejos [7.5] - Rather enjoyable proggy genre-fluid stuff with hints of Arcturus and nice melodic sensibilities. 112. Crimson Veil - Hex [7.5] - Diverse, well-crafted sound spanning alternative metal with Julie Christmas hints, prog tendencies, and harsher moments, with quite an eerie vibe overall. 113. Envy - Eunoia [7.5] - Quite brief, and missing the standout songs that The Fallen Crimson had, but the overall sound is very pleasant. 114. Besra - Equilibrium [7.5] - Solid post-metal EP. 115. Dawnwalker - The Unknowing [7.5] - Rather pleasant Anathema/Porcupine Tree-esque moody soft British prog rock. 116. Post Luctum - Forced To Watch You Wither [7.5] - Solid, evocative, occasionally dreary melodic death/doom. 117. Longhouse - III: N​ì​jw​à​swe [7.5] - Solid post-y, sludge, sometimes melodic sound with strong lead guitar work. 118. Emu - Emu [7.5] - Fun, exciting psych/stoner hard rock debut. 119. Spineless - Dysphonia [7.5] - Interesting mix of doom, post-, electronic and drone elements. 120. Bile Caster - Writhing Between Birth And Death [7.5] - Thick and ugly debut EP. 121. Caffeine - The Threshold [7.5] - Fun high-energy sludgy album with a bit of a Mastodon-lite vibe. 122. Sugar Horse - The Grand Scheme Of Things [7.5] - Occasional metallic outbursts, but more shoegaze/space rock/ambient-oriented. 123. Colmaar - Eternel [7.5] - Very CoL-esque evolution from When Icarus Falls; it's a shame to see them lose some of their personality, but I also do love this particular sound through association with CoL. 124. Bent Knee - Twenty Pills Without Water [7.5] - Nice, varied, fairly gentle prog sound - nothing crazy good, but also manages to avoid any of the annoying moments I've encountered before with Bent Knee. 125. i H​ä​xa - i H​ä​xa [7.5] - Nice varied listen spanning several understated and moody genres. 126. Swampworm - Architeuthis [7.5] - Evil, dissonant blackened grindcore. 127. Ghostheart Nebula - Blackshift [7.5] - Melancholic, resonant death/doomgaze. 128. Devin Townsend - PowerNerd [7.5] - Few awry or underwhelming songs, but generally a bit more pleasing than Empath for me, the short songs and the warmth of the likes of Jainism works better for me. 129. Master Boot Record - Hardwarez [7.5] - Same as usual, but still very entertaining. 130. Anomalie - Riverchild [7.5] - Fairly solid black/post sound, feel like I preferred previous albums. 131. Tigran Hamasyan - The Bird Of A Thousand Voices [7.5] - 90 minutes is too long for me, but the djenty jazz piano style is certainly unique and intriguing. 132. Fórn - Repercussions Of The Self [7.5] - Fairly nasty sludge doom with some harsher ambient parts. 133. Concrete Winds - Concrete Winds [7.5] - Mad, frenzied fusion of death, grind and black metal. 134. Vestige - Janis [7.5] - Gazey album, but also one that leans into heavier sounds from post-metal and metalcore. 135. Groza - Nadir [7.5] - Solid pivot in a post-black direction. 136. Black Curse - Burning In Celestial Poison [7.5] - Relentless cacophony, pretty good overall. 137. Kingcrow - Hopium [7.5] - Bit too emotionless classic prog at times, but also has some very solid writing on several tracks. 138. Mast Year - Point Of View [7.5] - Compact, crunching sludge/noise rock/hardcore fusion. 139. The Foreshadowing - New Wave Order [7.5] - Pretty good and sad gothic stuff. 140. Malconfort - Humanism [7.5] - Black-tinged, jazzy avant-garde metal sound: takes a bit of time to warm up (and the shrieked vocals can be a bit grating), but when it's in its groove, the oddball flow, quirky riffs and unorthodox melody come together rather well. 141. Munarheim - Heimkehr [7.5] - Rather enjoyable mix of folk, melodeath, power and symphonic metal. 142. Arkuum - Hier Ist Kein Licht [7.5] - Generic but enjoyable post-black; the post-metal portions lean towards early Moanaa, while the blackgaze parts are very typical for the style. 143. Grava - The Great White Nothing [7.5] - Bleak, groovy sludge with atmospheric elements. 144. DGM - Endless [7.5] - Very retro-sounding prog metal, but accomplished at it. 145. Zemeth - Miren [7.5] - From person behind Bloody Cumshot, not as balls-out insane as that band and not as fond of the J-pop vocal bits, but it's still a lot of fun. 146. The Other Sun - Daimon, Devil, Dawn [7.5] - Fun mix of occult, western and surf rock. 147. Pohl - Mysteries [7.5] - Cool sound straddling rock and metal, drawing from noise rock, alt metal, post-punk and arguably stoner, with elements of bands like Helms Alee and Jane's Addiction. 148. Orden Ogan - The Order Of Fear [7.5] - Somewhere between Gunman and Final Days, another strong entry from one of power metal's strongest forces at present. 149. Conjuring - Odium [7.5] - Another solid melody-heavy black metal release. 150. Run - True Heaviness Is Time [7.5] - Strong metalcore EP with black and post- elements. 151. Zørza - Hellven [7.5] - Solid blackened album with some melodic and post- elements. 152. Meer - Wheels Within Wheels [7.5] - A mature and well-realized symphonic prog rock sound with modern and pop sensibilities. 153. Gargantura - Primary Pulse [7.5] - Cool Gojira-esque pre-debut EP from groove/prog/death French band. 154. Cemetery Skyline - Nordic Gothic [7.5] - Really nice gentle gothic rock/metal album that carries over hints from the constituent members' main bands. 155. Vokonis - Transitions [7.5] - Good, but as with the last album, the longer songs do quite a bit more for me than the short ones. 156. Giant Walker - Silhouettes [7.5] - Solid heavy alt rock/metal sound with strong lead vocals and good degree of hookiness. 157. Flying Lotus - Spirit Box [7.5] - Nice chill EP. 158. Worm Shepherd - Hunger [7.5] - The melodic aspects of the album are very solid (if a bit aping Lorna Shore), some of the more brutal parts don't work quite as effectively, overall it's respectable Lorna Shore worship. 159. Helevorn - Espectres [7.5] - Conventional but strong gothic doom. 160. Floating Points - Cascade [7.5] - Good return to fun ravey music after the orchestral collab. 161. The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World [7.5] - Not entirely my thing, but some really pleasant soundscaping elevates it for me. 162. NightWraith - Divergence [7.5] - Enjoyable Finnish-style melodeath with some impressive Coloradan guests. 163. Pyrrhon - Exhaust [7.5] - Another chaotic onslaught of dissonant madness, found this perhaps marginally more approachable than my previous attempts at listening to them. 164. Modern Rites - Endless [7.5] - Faintly melodic black metal with a good aura and high intensity. 165. Vower - Apricity [7.5] - Solid prog/alt debut EP from band with ex-Palm Reader, Toska and Black Peaks members. 166. Seth - La France Des Maudits [7.5] - Generally strong melody-tinged black metal. 167. Dead Sacraments - The Pale Temple And Others [7.5] - Enjoyable stoner/sludge-leaning doom. 168. Apep - Before Whom Evil Trembles [7.5] - Solid enough Nile worship. 169. i Häxa - Part Three [7.5] - Nice range from dark ambient electronica to electro-prog rock. 170. Iress - Now, In Reverse [7.5] - Nice Chelsea Wolfe-esque gloomy sound with a bit more of a metallic doom slant. 171. Alvar - R​é​miniscence [7.5] - Strong doom debut with some occasional more extreme hints, including faint blackened touches. 172. Hail Darkness - Death Divine [7.5] - Solid occult mesh of retro rock, doom and stoner sounds, good vocals and riffs. 173. State Faults - Children Of The Moon [7.5] - Solid post-hardcore with great solos and clearly above-average writing. 174. Hell Is Other People - Moirae [7.5] - Slightly murkier blackgaze sound, pretty good; final song is strong. 175. Interloper - A Forgotten Loss [7.5] - Rather nice, if slightly inconsistent, prog/metalcore/melodeath mix. 176. Fleshgod Apocalypse - Opera [7.5] - Bit 'all flair, no substance' to begin with, but grows into itself with some more memorable writing from Morphine Waltz onwards. 177. Hereisaropegoodluck - Nothing To Write Home About [7.5] - Best grindcore so far this year, it's hectic but multi-dimensional, with some textures in the mix that go beyond pure savagery and some mathy hints. 178. Krosis - Infinite Circuitry [7.5] - I like it in the moments where it goes more Fallujah-ish, like the closing track. 179. Arkona (POL) - Stella Pandora [7.5] - Nicely melodic, atmo-leaning black metal. 180. Decimals - Convergence [7.5] - Delicate, dreamy instru-djent. 181. Malevich - Trembling And Dowsed [7.5] - Not really any grindcore as advertised, but core-tinged sludgy post stuff with an interesting style. 182. Dawn Treader - Bloom & Decay [7.5] - Blackgaze with a slight distinct flavour to it, really like the artwork. 183. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead" [7.5] 184. Marche Funèbre - After The Storm [7.5] - Nice catchy melodic death/doom. 185. Swamp Coffin - Drowning Glory [7.5] - Occasionally brings out the hardcore, but is tastiest when unleashing nasty sludge riffs. 186. Demon Head - Through Holes Shine The Stars [7.5] - Solid doomy occult rock. 187. Teeth - The Will Of Hate [7.5] - Cavernous doomy dissodeath. 188. Spectral Wound - Songs Of Blood And Mire [7.5] - This band's still a bit too 'straight raw BM' for my tastes, but songs do have good riffs. 189. Kanaan & Ævestaden - Langt, Langt Vekk [7.5] - Pleasant folk/prog mesh. 190. Nachtmystium - Blight Privilege [7.5] - Similar to previous albums of theirs, pretty good and enjoyable sound here. 191. Axamenta - Spires [7.5] - Long-awaited comeback after Ever-Arch-I-Tech-Ture; I like the symphonic prog melodeath sound reasonably well, gives vibes of Teramaze, Wilderun and a couple of other groups coming together. 192. Occulta Veritas - Irreducible Fear Of The Sublime [7.5] - Very Voidhanger-esque dissonant black/death. 193. Void Witch - Horripilating Presence [7.5] - Feisty, crunching death/doom. 194. Glacial Tomb - Lightless Expanse [7.5] - Nasty brutal-leaning sludgy death. 195. Agrypnie - Erg [7.5] - Feels more meloblack than blackgazey, it's good enough post-black for sure. 196. Respire - Hiraeth [7.5] - The mix of post-hardcore/screamo, indie, blackgaze and some other eclectic sounds is a compelling one overall. 197. The Blacktones - The Longest Year [7.5] - Intriguing mesh of alternative, sludge, post- and post-black metal, perhaps slightly leans more towards the former overall, while fluctuating track by track. 198. The Black Dahlia Murder - Servitude [7.5] 199. Asarhaddon - Êra [7.5] - Arguably overlong songs, but solid blackgaze/atmo-black. 200. Aversion - Futile Attempts To Reach The Light [7.5] - Well-rounded death/doom with bleakness but nice melancholic melodies too. 201. Methadone Skies - Spectres At Dawn [7.5] - Bit more driving than the last album, fine but losing even more of the memorable warmth from Manos. 202. Vanessa Funke - Void [7.5] - Quite a lot of variety on this album, from blackgaze to melodeath and sorrowful atmo-black; generally I like the different approaches. 203. Turin - The Unforgiving Reality In Nothing [7.5] - Modern death sound with some deathcore, industrial and symphonic elements, and a bit of a Hevy Devy feel to the semi-melodic harsh vocal moments. 204. Copse - MMXXIV [7.5] 205. Gigan - Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus [7.5] - Enjoy the ways in which it goes more malevolent around the tech-deathcore. 206. Mother Of Millions - Magna Mater [7.5] - Pleasantly melodic alt/prog stuff. 207. Föhn - Condescending [7.5] - Not sure how beneficial the saxophone is overall, but the general gloomy funeral doom writing is above-average and evocative. 208. Black Lava - The Savage Winds To Wisdom [7.5] - Pretty solid and engaging blackened death. 209. Bloodcross - Gravebound [7.5] - Frenetic, full-pelt meloblack debut with some trad/speed hints. 210. Uniform - American Standard [7.5] - Rather enjoy the slow, monolithic nature of the trudging title track. 211. Drownship - Tidal Passages [7.5] - Solid post-metal with a nice touch of personality to it despite being mostly very genre-conforming. 212. Antipope - Doors Of The Dead [7.5] - High-energy, occasionally harsh heavy/power melodic sound. 213. Vision Divine - Blood And Angels' Tears [7.5] - Above-average power metal in another underwhelming year for the genre. 214. Raat - Enchantment [7.5] - Blackgaze/atmo-black/meloblack with some dreamy and some intense moments. 215. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flight B741 [7.5] - Fun retro visit to 70s Southern rock. 216. Heriot - Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell [7.5] - Mean sludgy hardcore with some brief alt/industrial detours; I can vibe with this a bit more than Malevolence or Code Orange. 217. Akphaezya - Fell Down The Veil (Anthologies I​,​ III & V) [7.5] - Has some of the fluctuations in enjoyability that avantgarde stuff is prone to (looking at T.R.O.Y. in particular), but does have some really nice moments, particularly the tender melodicism of A Mother Last Will. 218. Defiled Embrace - The Nether Earth [7.5] - Fairly solid death/doom with some satisfying riffs and guitar leads. 219. Oldd Wvrms - Abysséphale [7.5] - Decent two-long-song instrumental post-metal album with quite a crunchy tone. 220. Anubis - The Unforgivable [7.5] - Nice modern melodic prog rock, hints of heavier Dear Hunter in it. 221. Sidewinder - Talons [7.5] - Stoner-heavy bluesy heavy rock with good vocals, riffs and writing. 222. Missouri Executive Order 44 - Salt Sermon [7.5] - Brief, tense, manic mathcore bordering on grindcore/powerviolence. 223. Cabiria - How Long's The Drive? [7.5] - Impressive modern addition to the congested instru-post scene. 224. Blackstaff - The Storyteller [7.5] - Nasty sludge with occasional leanings towards extremity, although the primitiveness occasionally causes it to drag. 225. Vuur & Zijde - Boezem [7.5] - Rather interesting mix of blackened elements with alternative rock styles, it's a fusion that's been done before but this is quite a distinctive example due to the low prominence of black metal. 226. Dragony - Hic Svnt Dracones [7.5] - Cheesy but pleasantly catchy. 227. Dragoncorpse - The Fall Of House Abbarath [7.5] - Another fun deathcore-tinged power metal EP, although the opening spoken word track is overkill on an EP this short. 228. Mothman And The Thunderbirds - Portal Hopper [7.5] - Vibrant melodic prog metal with slightly underwhelming vocals holding it back a bit. 229. Aurora (NOR) - What Happened To The Heart? [7.0] - A bit too stripped-down at times compared with The Gods We Can Touch, and lacking the memorability factor, but still impressively arranged with the harmonizing. 230. Partholón - The Ocean Pours In [7.0] - Heavily Cult Of Luna-influenced, but still very enjoyable. 231. Klone - The Unseen [7.0] - Generally par for the band, but a bit less impactful than previous albums, and with a couple of iffy tracks/moments. 232. Taur-Im-Duinath - Verso Casa [7.0] - Conventional but enjoyable atmoblack. 233. Orme - No Serpents, No Saviours [7.0] - Gnarly, droning sludge/stoner doom 20-minute single-song EP with a hench production. 234. Invernoir - Aimin' For Oblivion [7.0] - Good Peaceville gothic doom metal revivalism. 235. Isleptonthemoon - Only The Stars Know Of My Misfortune [7.0] - Soothing, serene, evocative blackgaze, has its great moments. 236. Carved Memories - The Moirai [7.0] - Fairly solid symphonic death stuff. 237. Zbrucz - Riparia Riparia [7.0] - Very lo-fi but very convicted screamo. 238. Lowrider - The Long Forever [7.0] - Nice enough stoner split. 239. Tribe Of Ghosts - City [7.0] - Above-average spin on electronicky alt-metallish sound. 240. Krilloan - Return Of The Heralds [7.0] - It's just power metal, but it's fairly good. 241. Together To The Stars - The Fragile Silence [7.0] - Conventional but solid blackgaze. 242. Kosmodome - Ad Undas [7.0] - Retro-psych/prog rock. 243. Jon Hopkins - Ritual [7.0] - It's an achingly long ambient build to the album's central climactic minutes, but when those middle tracks arrive, it's just about worth it in terms of payoff. 244. AK//47 - Menari Dalam Abu Algoritma [7.0] - Pretty solid grindcore, fairly ballistic but also has some brief lighter post-hardcore moments that expand its pallette. 245. Earth Ship - Soar [7.0] - Fun stoner/sludge combo with good riffs and guitar work on both ends of the spectrum. 246. And So I Watch You From Afar - Megafauna [7.0] - Bit more taken with this one than their previous album, kinda quirky and bouncy with the math rock vibes. 247. Lord Buffalo - Holus Bolus [7.0] - Bit of a Wovenhand understated Plains folk rock sound. 248. Grylle - Egrotants, Souffreteux, Cacochymes, Covidards [7.0] - Folk black metal with mandolin from people in Véhémence and Hanternoz, fairly solid. 249. Krvl - Donkere Paden [7.0] - Reasonably good post-black effort, nice Sharon Shazzula cameo. 250. Ophidian Memory - Carrion Lord [7.0] - Fun thrash/melodeath one-man project. 251. Dominia - Timeless [7.0] - Solid but flawed reprise of their Divine Revolution style. 252. Grendel's Sÿster - Katabasis Into The Abaton / Abstieg In Die Traumkammer [7.0] - Quite unique-sounding folk-influenced heavy/doom sound. 253. Doomsday Profit & Smoke - Doomsday Profit // Smoke [7.0] - Fairly fun and substantial sludge split. 254. Admiral Angry - Albania [7.0] - A chaotic avantgarde mix of grindcore, polyrhythmic grooves, classic thrashing riffs, and a host of disparate sounds. 255. Fostermother - Echo Manor [7.0] - Understated stoner rock/metal vibe, vocals are a bit soporific at times but overall feel is enjoyable. 256. Bombus - Your Blood [7.0] - A few iffy songs slightly drag down an otherwise very good hard rock/metal record. 257. SLIM0 - Forgiveness [7.0] - Slightly aimless but quite interesting art rock sound. 258. Naisian - Melting Man [7.0] - Good instrumental post-rock/metal EP. 259. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God [7.0] - Nick Cave isn't my jam, but I do quite like this quite symphonic, uplifing effort. 260. Pharmakon - Maggot Mass [7.0] - Unsettling noise electronics. 261. Evilyn - Mondestrunken [7.0] - Discordant, dissonant, cavernous avant-garde death metal; impressive but difficult to engage with. 262. Kurokuma - Of Amber And Sand [7.0] - Has good moments still, but fundamentally lacking the character that made the debut so strong. 263. Kiva - An Elegy Of Scars And Past Reflections [7.0] - Bleak, brooding post-metal, generally enjoyable but found it slightly lacking in impact. 264. Grid - The World Before Us [7.0] - Relatively intriguing post-metal sound, has some nice riffs and soundscapes, but also a slight oddness to it at times that doesn't entirely gel. 265. Mourners Lament - A Grey Farewell [7.0] - Soporific gothic d/d, nice melodies and uses of keys, a greater presence would have elevated the album a tad. 266. Hell:On - Shaman [7.0] - Reasonably solid Dyscarnate-esque modern groovy death sound with some World music elements. 267. Monument Of Misanthropy - Vile Postmortem Irrumatio [7.0] - Above-average for brutal death, but is also a bit more dynamic and at-times melodic than usual for the genre. 268. Atavistia - Inane Ducam (I Will Lead Into Nothingness) [7.0] - Fine EP, but does feel like a downgrade from Cosmic Warfare. 269. Conglaciation - Conglaciation [7.0] - Tech/disso-death that's a bit too busy but quite often fun. 270. Grimgotts - The Time Of The Wolfrider [7.0] 271. Oxygen Destroyer - Guardian Of The Universe [7.0] - Vicious balls-to-the-wall death/thrash, well executed. 272. Isor - Schwärze [7.0] - Slight improvement on the production front, fairly interesting mix of the black, ambient and industrial facets of their sound with a decent amount of inter-track variety. 273. Triumpher - Spirit Invictus [7.0] - Fairly rampant and exciting heavy/power, becomes slightly less inspired the more it leans towards the former style. 274. Frozen Crown - War Hearts [7.0] - A bit one-tone, but catchy, energetic and fun. 275. Sólstafir - Hin Helga Kvöl [7.0] - More varied and more interesting than the last one. 276. Seven Kingdoms - The Square [7.0] - Not a fan of the cheesy cover at the end, but the rest of the EP was all fairly solid, bit more encouraging than their last album. 277. Wolfheart - Draconian Darkness [7.0] - Like their previous album, generally decent, has some impressive moments but balanced out by some dry parts. 278. Nails - Every Bridge Burning [7.0] - I don't quite understand what makes this band so popular compared to other grindy acts, but it's fine for what it is. 279. Myrdal - Helv​í​ti [7.0] - Solid black metal EP. 280. Nihilect - Tapestry [7.0] - Promising debut EP, dissonant and hectic core-leaning tech-death. 281. Fucked Up - Another Day [7.0] - Indie punk sound, for lack of a better word, quite fun and melodic. 282. The Otolith - Legends Of The Desert: Volume 4 [7.0] - Good songs from The Otolith, not quite as keen on Eagle Twin's contributions. 283. Blitzkrieg - Blitzkrieg [7.0] - Couple of duffer songs, but overall some very decent classic heavy metal. 284. Mountaineer - Dawn And All That Follows [7.0] - Now fully into heavy shoegaze territory; the couple of harsh vocal moments seem a bit unnecessary but otherwise a pleasant listen. 285. Eldrvak - Shadows And Ash [7.0] - Dainty soundtracky folk stuff, but a tad lightweight in terms of memorable and impactful material. 286. Keitzer - Pandemonium Humanitas [7.0] - Crunchy, at times technical death metal with teeth. 287. Wormwitch - Wormwitch [7.0] - Crusty black metal with faint melodic elements. 288. Deadscape - State Of Decline [7.0] - General decent and mostly enjoyable melodeath with some very tasty lead guitar stuff (particularly near end of album), but not sold on some of the clean vocal parts. 289. Delta - Gemini [7.0] - Reasonably good prog with solid vocals. 290. Al-Namrood - Al Aqrab [7.0] - Quite sinister-sounding Arabian black metal. 291. Charlotte Wessels - The Obsession [7.0] - Not spectacular, but catchy, pleasant and at-times quite touching. 292. Pergamo - Altar [7.0] - Full-on Amenra/CoL worship, too similar to stand on its own but still very enjoyable to listen to (sans some roughness with the vocals). 293. Dhyana - Amituofo [7.0] - Almost akin to a dronier, (at-times) lighter Dopesmoker - bit one-dimensional for the length, but pleasant to listen to and has some impressive heavy climactic moments. 294. Sylosis - The Path [7.0] 295. Galneryus - The Stars Will Light The Way [7.0] - Not too shabby power metal, got some zest to it. 296. New Money - Dinero Nuevo [7.0] - Nasty sludge-core debut EP from ex-LLNN guitarist/vocalist. 297. Vanhelgd - Atropos Doctrina [7.0] - Decent death metal with doom and black elements. 298. Arx Atrata - A Reckoning [7.0] - Atmospheric meloblack with nice melodies and evocative vibes. 299. The Archaic Epidemic - Infinite Exile [7.0] - Slam-tinged, blast-heavy deathcore, but surprisingly likeable and textured. 300. FØES - Endless Exile [7.0] - Slightly grindy hardcore, lots of venom and distorted rage. 301. Oceans Of Slumber - Where Gods Fear To Speak [7.0] 302. Öxxö Xööx - + (The Opening Of The Hypercube) [7.0] - Quirky, theatrical and elaborate, but not chaotic; it's not a sound I can enjoy for nearly 80 minutes straight. 303. Oneiros - Ruminations [7.0] - Fine melo/atmo-black. 304. Aiwaz - Darrkh​.​.​. It Is! [7.0] - Reasonably good gothic doom, definitely sounds stronger in the more melodic parts. 305. Blind Monarch - The Dead Replenish The Earth [7.0] - Grim sludge death/doom, slightly one-dimensional. 306. Jade - The Sempiternal Wound [7.0] - Jade songs are very good, Sanctuarium ones are pretty bad. 307. As I Lay Dying - Through Storms Ahead [7.0] - Pretty catchy and riffy metalcore. 308. Occult Witches - Sorrow's Pyre [7.0] - Fun retro occult rock with a stoner rock edge. 309. Born In The Purple - Purple-Born [7.0] - Good-quality debut melodeath EP. 310. Exosphere - Autonomy [7.0] - Interesting off-kilter sludge sound with some melodic/clean vocal bits alongside dissonant chords and trudges, just doesn't quite all work together for me. 311. Visions Of Atlantis - Pirates II - Armada [7.0] - Solid enough and suitably bombastic symphonic metal album, although I'm just not that into the songs. 312. Kryptos - Decimator [7.0] - Solid speed metal-leaning classic heavy sound with strong riffs and solos. 313. Forgotten Tomb - Nightfloating [7.0] 314. Dark Tranquillity - Endtime Signals [7.0] - DT are clearly better than this, but based on the last 15 years of gradual regression, it's hard to expect too much better going forward. 315. The Mosaic Window - Hemasanctum [7.0] 316. Deserts Of Mars - Dead Planet Exodus [7.0] - Straightforward driving stoner rock/metal, got funner energy and riffs than some similar albums in the genre this year. 317. Faust - Death Galore [7.0] - Deathly thrash with teeth. 318. Mayhemic - Toba [7.0] - Reasonably fun, frenetic thrash. 319. De Mannen Broeders - Sober Maal [7.0] - Basically CHVE material but with spoken word and not quite as powerfully atmospheric. 320. Yersin - The Scythe Is Remorseless [7.0] - Deathgrind with some interesting moments and a generally above-average level of quality. 321. InnerWish - Ash Of Eternal Flame [7.0] - Decent power/heavy, nice Hansi Kursch cameo. 322. Funeral - Gospel Of Bones [7.0] - Nice doomy soundscapes, the deep clean vibrato vocals get a bit much. 323. Chained To The Bottom Of The Ocean - Sisyphean Cruelty [7.0] - Shorter and more bluntly sludge songs than the last album. 324. Undeath - More Insane [7.0] - Reasonably good OSDM. 325. Endonomos - Endomonos II - Enlightenment [7.0] - Bit plodding, but generally interesting doom sound. 326. Glacier (USA-BO) - A Distant, Violent Shudder [7.0] - Fairly solid and heavy instrumental post-metal, but a bit too long to remain consistently engaging. 327. The Gates - .​.​.​Of The River Styx [7.0] - Fairly fun gothicky occult rock with blackened vocals. 328. Scald - Ancient Doom Metal [7.0] - Classic-sounding epic doom. 329. Saturn's Husk - Hourglass Of Human Ash [7.0] - Decent post-y stuff with occasional stoner/psychedelic elements. 330. Liminal Shroud - Visions Of Collapse [7.0] - Still a decent effort from the band, but I found it a bit less engaging their 2022 album - perhaps a bit OTT with the blasting. 331. Thousand Limbs - The Aurochs [7.0] - Respectable instrumental-only post-metal. 332. Tantrum - No Place For The Damned [7.0] - Surprisingly enjoyable trad heavy with solid vocals and riffs, albeit the occasional bland song. 333. Lunage - Tales From The Forgotten Lands [7.0] - Pleasant Ensiferum-lite power metal-oriented folk metal. 334. Aries Descendant - From The Ashes Of Deceit [7.0] - Fairly good symphonic power metal album with some frenetic fast songs and other mid-tempo chuggers. 335. Odious - Equilibrium Tool [7.0] - Arabian symphonic metal, bit of a Septicflesh feel. 336. Adorior - Bleed On My Teeth [7.0] - Relentless lo-fi first wave black/thrash/death evilness. 337. HammerFall - Avenge The Fallen [7.0] - Bit ballad-heavy, some run-of-the-mill tracks, but some decent PM efforts. 338. Berenice - Berenice [7.0] - Brutal grind debut EP. 339. Eldamar - Astral Journeys Pt. I: Creation [7.0] - Dreamy ambient atmo-black. 340. I Ya Toyah - Drama [7.0] - Generally fun and catchy electronic pop/rock album. 341. Torrefy - Necronomisongs [7.0] - Rather decent black/thrash. 342. Daedalia - Dream Of A Manikin [7.0] - Oddball psych black metal EP. 343. Scarcity - The Promise Of Rain [7.0] - Cacophonic, freeform discordance: I appreciate aspects of the approach, although it can get a bit fatiguing to listen to. 344. Gormoth - Mes​é​l A T​á​j [7.0] - Dainty ambient BM. 345. 40 Watt Sun - Little Weight [7.0] - Bit more up my street than the last effort. 346. Harvestman - Triptych: Part Two [7.0] - Folk-tinged ambience, above-average for ambient music. 347. Hand Of Juno - Psychotic Banana [7.0] - Alt-metal- and metalcore-leaning industrial stuff, above-average for the genre this year even if not great. 348. Feind - Ambulante Hirnamputation [7.0] - 15-minute rampage through 17 grindcore songs, has a bit of personality and fun to it amidst the onslaught. 349. Smashing Pumpkins - Aghori Mhori Mei [7.0] - Reasonably good effort for this band in 2024. 350. Zetra - Zetra [7.0] - Reasonably good kinda gazey, slightly gothicky, sorta heavy sound. 351. The Radicant - We Ascend [7.0] - Interesting first taste of Vincent Cavanaugh's new project, quite electronics-focused. 352. Luca - Azelea [7.0] - Pleasant instru-prog/djent debut EP in the Sithu Aye vein. 353. Uttertomb - Nebulas Of Self-Desecration [7.0] - Bleak, murky, abhorrent death metal; some of it I find a bit unengaging, but a couple of tracks with some Nile-ish 'melodic' moments and bleak atmospheres sound cool. 354. Korrosive - Katastrophic Creation [7.0] - Would benefit from going a bit more hyperthrash or leaning more into the death metal rather than throwing out the 'flat thrash' riffs it's prone to, but reasonably good. 355. The Body - The Crying Out Of Things [7.0] - As with a few releases from The Body, I dig the industrial soundscapes, I just hate the vocals so much. 356. Tenebrae Annex - Conditioning [7.0] - Creepy industrial electronica. 357. Votive - Towards The Pillory [7.0] - Decent, directly intense screamo. 358. Krallice - Inorganic Rites [7.0] - The horror synths add an interesting dynamic to the music, which on the whole I struggle a bit to engage with. 359. Jerry Cantrell - I Want Blood [7.0] - Continuation of modern-day AIC, sounds fine but forgettable. 360. Casandra's Crossing - Garden Of Earthly Delights [7.0] - Very Myles Kennedy/Alter Bridge, but I'm enjoying this more than Kennedy's new album. 361. Veonity - The Final Element [6.5] - Reasonably good power metal, a tad too cheesy. 362. Bütcher - On Fowl Of Tyrant Wing [6.5] - Reasonably enjoyable sound still, as far as retro-sounding speed/first wave black approaches go, and some cool riffs and solos. 363. Harvestman - Triptych: Part Three [6.5] - More kinda nice ambient stuff, this one more synthy and at-times noisy. 364. Ghosts Of Glaciers - Eternal [6.5] - Overall good, if slightly forgettable, instrumental post-rock/metal. 365. Ataraxie - Le Déclin [6.5] - Decent funeral/death doom, but drags somewhat. 366. Endless Chain - Agony [6.5] - Reasonable goth/alt/melodeath mesh, dragged down slightly for me by the cheesier alt-metal elements. 367. Summoning The Lich - Under The Reviled Throne [6.5] - B-side TBDM - fine, but lacking the same memorability of TBDM on form. 368. Erronaut - The Space Inbetween [6.5] - Fairly typical doomy stoner with some slightly tougher moments; has moments where it shines a bit above average. 369. Nightwish - Yesterwynde [6.5] - Less so than the last album, but still a bit bloated and boring. 370. Make Them Suffer - Make Them Suffer [6.5] - Bit variable in enjoyment, but decent melodic vocal hooks, some interesting use of electronics and a decent number of good djent riffs. 371. Bríi - Camaradagem P​ó​stuma [6.5] - Some nice sounds, but a bit directionless and impactless compared with previous releases. 372. Kwakisurpiniku - Nowhere Songs [6.5] - Diverse, oddball mathcore/grindcore, includes things from a few different genres; bit hit and miss, but quite appealing when on song. 373. Defences - Shadowlight [6.5] - Decent modern metalcore/alt-metal. 374. Chat Pile - Cool World [6.5] - Not sure I'm ever going to like this band. 375. Living Gate - Suffer As One [6.5] - Competent but kinda ho-hum OSDM. 376. Obsidian Mantra - As We All Will [6.5] - Reasonably good groove death metal. 377. Blue Heron - Everything Fades [6.5] - Decent but slightly unremarkable sludge-lite. 378. Drom - Pustina [6.5] - Perfectly fine but slightly forgettable post-metal. 379. Poppy - Negative Spaces [6.5] - Still don't love it, and the metal parts aren't great, but some of the pop elements (the synthpop in Crystallized, hooky chorus of The Cost Of Giving Up) are quite enjoyable. 380. Swallow The Sun - Shining [6.5] - Interesting approach to softening up their sound, but the clean vocal delivery just isn't clicking with me, and the songs are soporific without having actual interesting content; the guitar leads are usually nice at least. 381. Oceano - Living Chaos [6.5] - Nothing great, but some tasty parts to this deathcore. 382. Cäbränegrä - Karoshi [6.5] - Decent grindcore with a nice oddball edge. 383. Cyborg Octopus - Bottom Feeder [6.5] - More prog-metalcore, this time around a bit djentier; it has some more cool ideas, but less standout moments and the vocals (particularly harsh) are quite grating. 384. Phantom Hound - From Boom Town To Ghost Town [6.5] - Decent desert rock/stoner metal album that does the basics well without going much beyond this. 385. Houkago Grind Time - Koncertos Of Kawaiiness: Stealing Jon Chang's Ideas, A Book By Andrew Lee [6.5] - Frenetic tongue-in-cheek grind, decent but insufficient variety to remain interesting across 18 tracks. 386. Culled - Psycles [6.5] - Moderately interesting grindy sludge EP. 387. Isle Of The Cross - Faustus: The Musical [6.5] - Ambitious symphonic prog concept album, has some satisfyingly soaring power metallic parts, also has a few iffy tracks and parts. 388. Linkin Park - From Zero [6.5] - Reasonably good comeback album with an impressive lead vocal performance. 389. Aethyrick - A Union Of Spectres [6.5] - Competent but forgettable meloblack split. 390. Powerwolf - Wake Up The Wicked [6.5] - Some decent catchy tracks here, some underwhelming cheesy ones too. 391. Lamašhtu - Längtan [6.5] - Symphonic prog that has elements I appreciate, but I must confess I find it leaves me feeling dry too often for my liking. 392. Leila Abdul-Rauf - Calls From A Seething Edge [6.5] - Airy, ethereal ambient stuff. 393. Simone Simons - Vermillion [6.5] - Very Ayreon-esque, but more enjoyable than the last couple of Ayreon albums at least. 394. Wind Rose - Trollslayer [6.5] - Perfectly listenable but overly cheesy and unremarkable power/folk metal. 395. Friends From Moon - The End [6.5] - Slightly peculiar synth-heavy direction from the debut album - has nice elements, but as a whole not as keen on it. 396. Orpheus Omega - Emberglow [6.5] - Slightly above-average melodeath of a metalcore persuasion; not huge on the clean choruses. 397. A Night In Texas - Digital Apocalypse [6.5] - Slightly above-average deathcore, not overly memorable. 398. Act Of Creation - Moments To Remain [6.5] - Generally decent Arch Enemy-esque material. 399. Korpituli - Pohjola [6.5] - Kinda fine folk stuff, didn't notice anything especially noteworthy about it. 400. Myles Kennedy - The Art Of Letting Go [6.5] - Listenable but forgettable rock. 401. Doedsmaghird - Omniverse Consciousness [6.5] - Quite irritating, lots of wackiness but low on entertainment. 402. Flotsam And Jetsam - I Am The Weapon [6.5] - Perfectly competent, almost a bit power metally at times, but overall slightly dull. 403. Phaëthon - Wielder Of The Steel [6.5] - Good trad heavy instrumentation undermined by the 'epic' vocal style. 404. I, Cursed - Death Holograms [6.5] - Brief furious deathgrind onslaught from duo better known for post-metal. 405. Deceased - Children Of The Morgue [6.5] - Deathly thrash with a trad heavy edge, it's fine but nothing too exciting. 406. Nuclear Tomb - Terror Labyrinthian [6.5] - Reasonably decent techy death-thrash. 407. Detach The Islands - A Highly Magnified History [6.5] - Reasonably good mathy, posty hardcore with positive moments but also some underwhelming or tedious moments. 408. K.Y.M.I. - Liha [6.5] - Moderately enjoyable deathcore/grind outing. 409. Ashtar - The Return Of The Frozen Souls [6.5] - Unremarkable black/doom stuff. 410. Circle Of Sighs - Ursus [6.5] - Wacky and erratic EP but at times quite interesting. 411. Sick/Tired - Whip Hand Paranoia [6.5] - Straight grindcore aggression, reasonably satisfying for such a straight-nosed approach. 412. Black Capricorn - Sacrifice Darkness And .​.​. Fire [6.5] - Initially starts off with an above-average ominous atmosphere for stoner doom, but regresses a bit after that point. 413. Duel - Breakfast With Death [6.5] - Stonerish, rambunctuous heavy rock, decent fun without being particularly noteworthy. 414. Grand Magus - Sunraven [6.0] - Fine, just a bit boring. 415. Unto Others - Never, Neverland [6.0] - Some good stuff, but too over the shop and some tracks really not for me. 416. Brian Gibson - Thrasher [6.0] - Bit too scattered stylistically, but some good entrants from techno, IDM and other electronic styles. 417. Ixion - Evolution [6.0] - Some of the synth stuff is quite nice; don't like the harsh vocals, and some of the songwriting is a bit nothingy. 418. High Parasite - Forever We Burn [6.0] - The more gothic tracks and moments are fine, the more metallic portions (e.g. My Syndrome) are a bit tedious and the raspy vocals are really not doing it for me. 419. Zeal & Ardor - Greif [6.0] 420. Death Racer - From Gravel To Grave [6.0] - Lots of raw blackened thrash energy, a bit primitive and limited though. 421. Eremit - Rise Of The Ruan​~​Angh [6.0] - An Eremit song with subpar production that isn't truly heavy is just a bit pointless, and the first track in particular suffers from this. 422. Sickrecy - Sickrecy / SlothPhantomMoth [Split] [6.0] - Just 5-10 min of pretty decent grindcore. 423. Satan - Songs In Crimson [6.0] - Boring, dead NWOBHM. 424. Turmion Kätilöt - Reset [6.0] - Bit less irritating than previous albums? 425. Fulci - Duck Face Killings [6.0] - A band/album I don't really understand the hype for, it just brings together brutal death and OSDM in a way that doesn't improve either. 426. Alleviate - DMNS [6.0] 427. Valkiria - Embrace The End [6.0] 428. Anna Pest - You And Me At The End Of The Fucking World [6.0] 429. In Hearts Wake - Incarnation [6.0] - Metalcore with good moments but cheesy electronics. 430. Wormed - Omegon [6.0] - Better than some brutal death, still too close to brutal death for my tastes. 431. Against Evil - Give 'Em Hell [6.0] - Some fun riffs on here for the genre, unfortunately the vocals aren't great and the choruses don't land. 432. Within The Ruins - Phenomena II [5.5] - Found this a bit tedious and boring despite some good moments. 433. Dampf - No Angels Alive [5.5] - Amaranthe-lite, better than their worst but worse than their best, and with a couple of oddball songs such as a folk shanty venture. 434. Ice Ages - Parasiting Dreams [5.5] - Overlong, boring darkwave-ish music. 435. Trollcave / Putridarium - Swallowed By Rottenness [5.5] - Boring lo-fi OSDM. 436. Gravemind - Introsphere [5.5] - Listenable enough, but a fairly effective microcosm of the more tedious trends in the current x-core scenes. 437. Mushroomhead - Call The Devil [5.5] - Rather bland, but not inherently bad, alt metal. 438. Blues Pills - Birthday [5.5] - Competent but boring retro rock. 439. Allt - From The New World [5.0] - Wet djent-lite metalcore, letdown from the previous EP. 440. Ad Infinitum - Abyss [5.0] 441. Warm Gadget - Sorrows [5.0] - Boring writing and bad vocals. Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff. [ More lists by musclassia ]

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