Thumbs up: +6 RaduP AndyMetalFreak Khold Baroness Bjamm 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. Piah Mater - Under The Shadow Of A Foreign Sun [8.0] - Very Opethian prog-death, generally very solid. 2. Delving - All Paths Diverge [8.0] - More dreamy Elder-lite goodness from DiSalvo. 3. Anciients - Beyond The Reach Of The Sun [8.0] - Perhaps doesn't have the peaks of Voice Of The Void on first listens, but grows into itself strongly as it progresses. 4. Octoploid - Beyond The Aeons [8.0] - Olli-Pekka Laine resurrects the sound of Elegy-era Amorphis quite sumptuously here. 5. 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. 6. Vile Rites - Senescence [8.0] - Solid prog/techy death with punishing dissonance in the heavier moments. 7. A Wake In Providence - I Write To You, My Darling Decay [8.0] - Very good symphonic deathcore/prog-death with very decent clean vocals. 8. Eye Eater - Alienate [8.0] - Post-tinged dissonant blackened death with good riffs and strong atmospherics. 9. Defacement - Duality [8.0] - Intense, exhilarating dissonant blackened death. 10. Norna - Norna [8.0] - Nicely brooding and ominous post-metal. 11. Amiensus - Reclamation: Part 2 [8.0] - Strong melodicism and variety; much better than Abreaction and possibly the best since Restoration. 12. Other World - Tenebrous [8.0] - Enjoyable ritualistic slant to parts of this solid black metal album. 13. Generation Of Vipers - Guilt Shrine [8.0] - Tasty hardcore-leaning sludge, songs are angry and heavy but still have groove. 14. Sur Austru - Datura Străhiarelor [8.0] - More Negura Bunget-esque than I remember their previous efforts being, I'm enjoying this quite a bit. 15. Akhlys - House Of The Black Geminus [8.0] - Exquisitely intense and hellish atmosphere, strong use of guitar leads. 16. Pure Reason Revolution - Coming Up To Consciousness [8.0] - Bit too Porcupine Tree-y for me, and a bit short of the last couple of albums, but still a worthwhile listen. 17. 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. 18. The Mantle - Violent Cosmic Fortune [8.0] - Accomplished, compelling prog death album heavy on the prog. 19. Nyktophobia - To The Stars [8.0] - Typical-sounding but upper-tier Finnish-sounding melodeath from Germany. 20. In Aphelion - Reaperdawn [8.0] - Perhaps a smidge hotter than this year's Necrophobic album. 21. Cold Cell - Age Of Unreason [7.5] - Solid black metal with a very neat incursion into post-black territory with clean vocals on Meaningless. 22. 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. 23. Longhouse - III: N​ì​jw​à​swe [7.5] - Solid post-y, sludge, sometimes melodic sound with strong lead guitar work. 24. Ever Forthright - Techinflux [7.5] 25. Favna Abisal - La Casa De Los Siete Espejos [7.5] - Rather enjoyable proggy genre-fluid stuff with hints of Arcturus and nice melodic sensibilities. 26. Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All [7.5] - Pretty fierce and tasty, one of their better ones in a while. 27. Tellmarch - Tellmarch [7.5] - Brief yet strong mix of doom, sludge, black and core sounds. 28. Stoort Neer - Essensen Av Sm​ä​rta, Reflektion Och återh​ä​mtning [7.5] - Brief but impactful atmospheric black-tinged hardcore onslaught. 29. 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. 30. Ceremony Of Silence - H​á​lios [7.5] - Chonky dissonant blackened death with nice atmospheric aspects. 31. Emu - Emu [7.5] - Fun, exciting psych/stoner hard rock debut. 32. 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. 33. 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. 34. Concrete Winds - Concrete Winds [7.5] - Mad, frenzied fusion of death, grind and black metal. 35. Kingcrow - Hopium [7.5] - Bit too emotionless classic prog at times, but also has some very solid writing on several tracks. 36. Mast Year - Point Of View [7.5] - Compact, crunching sludge/noise rock/hardcore fusion. 37. 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. 38. The Other Sun - Daimon, Devil, Dawn [7.5] - Fun mix of occult, western and surf rock. 39. 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. 40. 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. 41. Conjuring - Odium [7.5] - Another solid melody-heavy black metal release. 42. Run - True Heaviness Is Time [7.5] - Strong metalcore EP with black and post- elements. 43. Zørza - Hellven [7.5] - Solid blackened album with some melodic and post- elements. 44. Meer - Wheels Within Wheels [7.5] - A mature and well-realized symphonic prog rock sound with modern and pop sensibilities. 45. Modern Rites - Endless [7.5] - Faintly melodic black metal with a good aura and high intensity. 46. Vower - Apricity [7.5] - Solid prog/alt debut EP from band with ex-Palm Reader, Toska and Black Peaks members. 47. Seth - La France Des Maudits [7.5] - Generally strong melody-tinged black metal. 48. i Häxa - Part Three [7.5] - Nice range from dark ambient electronica to electro-prog rock. 49. Iress - Now, In Reverse [7.5] - Nice Chelsea Wolfe-esque gloomy sound with a bit more of a metallic doom slant. 50. Alvar - R​é​miniscence [7.5] - Strong doom debut with some occasional more extreme hints, including faint blackened touches. 51. Hail Darkness - Death Divine [7.5] - Solid occult mesh of retro rock, doom and stoner sounds, good vocals and riffs. 52. State Faults - Children Of The Moon [7.5] - Solid post-hardcore with great solos and clearly above-average writing. 53. 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. 54. 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. 55. Malevich - Trembling And Dowsed [7.5] - Not really any grindcore as advertised, but core-tinged sludgy post stuff with an interesting style. 56. Dawn Treader - Bloom & Decay [7.5] - Blackgaze with a slight distinct flavour to it, really like the artwork. 57. Teeth - The Will Of Hate [7.5] - Cavernous doomy dissodeath. 58. 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. 59. 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. 60. Occulta Veritas - Irreducible Fear Of The Sublime [7.5] - Very Voidhanger-esque dissonant black/death. 61. Void Witch - Horripilating Presence [7.5] - Feisty, crunching death/doom. 62. Respire - Hiraeth [7.5] - The mix of post-hardcore/screamo, indie, blackgaze and some other eclectic sounds is a compelling one overall. 63. 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. 64. 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. 65. Copse - MMXXIV [7.5] - Basically just their EPs repackaged, but a solid blackgaze debut. 66. Föhn - Condescending [7.5] - Not sure how beneficial the saxophone is overall, but the general gloomy funeral doom writing is above-average and evocative. 67. Black Lava - The Savage Winds To Wisdom [7.5] - Pretty solid and engaging blackened death. 68. Bloodcross - Gravebound [7.5] - Frenetic, full-pelt meloblack debut with some trad/speed hints. 69. Uniform - American Standard [7.5] - Rather enjoy the slow, monolithic nature of the trudging title track. 70. Raat - Enchantment [7.5] - Blackgaze/atmo-black/meloblack with some dreamy and some intense moments. 71. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flight b741 [7.5] - Fun retro visit to 70s Southern rock. 72. Sidewinder - Talons [7.5] - Stoner-heavy bluesy heavy rock with good vocals, riffs and writing. 73. Missouri Executive Order 44 - Salt Sermon [7.5] - Brief, tense, manic mathcore bordering on grindcore/powerviolence. 74. 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. 75. Mothman And The Thunderbirds - Portal Hopper [7.5] - Vibrant melodic prog metal with slightly underwhelming vocals holding it back a bit. 76. Brian Gibson - Thrasher [7.0] - Bit too scattered stylistically, but some good entrants from techno, IDM and other electronic styles. 77. Kurokuma - Of Amber And Sand [7.0] - Has good moments still, but fundamentally lacking the character that made the debut so strong. 78. 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. 79. Partholón - The Ocean Pours In [7.0] - Heavily Cult Of Luna-influenced, but still very enjoyable. 80. Orme - No Serpents, No Saviours [7.0] - Gnarly, droning sludge/stoner doom 20-minute single-song EP with a hench production. 81. Together To The Stars - The Fragile Silence [7.0] - Conventional but solid blackgaze. 82. 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. 83. 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. 84. Earth Ship - Soar [7.0] - Fun stoner/sludge combo with good riffs and guitar work on both ends of the spectrum. 85. 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. 86. Lord Buffalo - Holus Bolus [7.0] - Bit of a Wovenhand understated Plains folk rock sound. 87. Grendel's Sÿster - Katabasis Into The Abaton / Abstieg In Die Traumkammer [7.0] - Quite unique-sounding folk-influenced heavy/doom sound. 88. Admiral Angry - Albania [7.0] - A chaotic avantgarde mix of grindcore, polyrhythmic grooves, classic thrashing riffs, and a host of disparate sounds. 89. Fostermother - Echo Manor [7.0] - Understated stoner rock/metal vibe, vocals are a bit soporific at times but overall feel is enjoyable. 90. 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. 91. Evilyn - Mondestrunken [7.0] - Discordant, dissonant, cavernous avant-garde death metal; impressive but difficult to engage with. 92. Kiva - An Elegy Of Scars And Past Reflections [7.0] - Bleak, brooding post-metal, generally enjoyable but found it slightly lacking in impact. 93. 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. 94. 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. 95. Hell:On - Shaman [7.0] - Reasonably solid Dyscarnate-esque modern groovy death sound with some World music elements. 96. 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. 97. Atavistia - Inane Ducam (I Will Lead Into Nothingness) [7.0] - Fine EP, but does feel like a downgrade from Cosmic Warfare. 98. Conglaciation - Conglaciation [7.0] - Tech/disso-death that's a bit too busy but quite often fun. 99. Oxygen Destroyer - Guardian Of The Universe [7.0] - Vicious balls-to-the-wall death/thrash, well executed. 100. 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. 101. 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. 102. Myrdal - Helv​í​ti [7.0] - Solid black metal EP. 103. Nihilect - Tapestry [7.0] - Promising debut EP, dissonant and hectic core-leaning tech-death. 104. Fucked Up - Another Day [7.0] - Indie punk sound, for lack of a better word, quite fun and melodic. 105. 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. 106. Wormwitch - Wormwitch [7.0] - Crusty black metal with faint melodic elements. 107. 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. 108. New Money - Dinero Nuevo [7.0] - Nasty sludge-core debut EP from ex-LLNN guitarist/vocalist. 109. Vanhelgd - Atropos Doctrina [7.0] - Decent death metal with doom and black elements. 110. Arx Atrata - A Reckoning [7.0] - Atmospheric meloblack with nice melodies and evocative vibes. 111. The Archaic Epidemic - Infinite Exile [7.0] - Slam-tinged, blast-heavy deathcore, but surprisingly likeable and textured. 112. FØES - Endless Exile [7.0] - Slightly grindy hardcore, lots of venom and distorted rage. 113. Blind Monarch - The Dead Replenish The Earth [7.0] - Grim sludge death/doom, slightly one-dimensional. 114. The Radicant - We Ascend [7.0] - Interesting first taste of Vincent Cavanaugh's new project, quite electronics-focused. 115. Occult Witches - Sorrow's Pyre [7.0] - Fun retro occult rock with a stoner rock edge. 116. Born In The Purple - Purple-Born [7.0] - Good-quality debut melodeath EP. 117. 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. 118. Kryptos - Decimator [7.0] - Solid speed metal-leaning classic heavy sound with strong riffs and solos. 119. Forgotten Tomb - Nightfloating [7.0] 120. 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. 121. Saturn's Husk - Hourglass Of Human Ash [7.0] - Decent post-y stuff with occasional stoner/psychedelic elements. 122. 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. 123. Thousand Limbs - The Aurochs [7.0] - Respectable instrumental only post-metal. 124. Tantrum - No Place For The Damned [7.0] - Surprisingly enjoyable trad heavy with solid vocals and riffs, albeit the occasional bland song. 125. Lunage - Tales From The Forgotten Lands [7.0] - Pleasant Ensiferum-lite power metal-oriented folk metal. 126. HammerFall - Avenge The Fallen [7.0] - Bit ballad-heavy, some run-of-the-mill tracks, but some decent PM efforts. 127. Berenice - Berenice [7.0] - Brutal grind debut EP. 128. Eldamar - Astral Journeys Pt. I: Creation [7.0] - Dreamy ambient atmo-black. 129. Daedalia - Dream Of A Manikin [7.0] - Oddball psych black metal EP. 130. 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. 131. Harvestman - Triptych: Part Two [7.0] - Folk-tinged ambience, above-average for ambient music. 132. Feind - Ambulante Hirnamputation [7.0] - 15-minute rampage through 17 grindcore songs, has a bit of personality and fun to it amidst the onslaught. 133. Smashing Pumpkins - Aghori Mhori Mei [7.0] - Reasonably good effort for this band in 2024. 134. Luca - Azelea [7.0] - Pleasant instru-prog/djent debut EP in the Sithu Aye vein. 135. 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. 136. Tenebrae Annex - Conditioning [7.0] - Creepy industrial electronica. 137. Votive - Towards The Pillory [7.0] - Decent, directly intense screamo. 138. 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. 139. Endless Chain - Agony [6.5] - Reasonable goth/alt/melodeath mesh, dragged down slightly for me by the cheesier alt-metal elements. 140. Summoning The Lich - Under The Reviled Throne [6.5] - B-side TBDM - fine, but lacking the same memorability of TBDM on form. 141. Erronaut - The Space Inbetween [6.5] - Fairly typical doomy stoner with some slightly tougher moments; has moments where it shines a bit above average. 142. Drom - Pustina [6.5] - Perfectly fine but slightly forgettable post-metal. 143. Oceano - Living Chaos [6.5] - Nothing great, but some tasty parts to this deathcore. 144. Cäbränegrä - Karoshi [6.5] - Decent grindcore with a nice oddball edge. 145. 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. 146. Culled - Psycles [6.5] - Moderately interesting grindy sludge EP. 147. Simone Simons - Vermillion [6.5] - Very Ayreon-esque, but more enjoyable than the last couple of Ayreon albums at least. 148. Orpheus Omega - Emberglow [6.5] - Slightly above-average melodeath of a metalcore persuasion; not huge on the clean choruses. 149. A Night In Texas - Digital Apocalypse [6.5] - Slightly above-average deathcore, not overly memorable. 150. Act Of Creation - Moments To Remain [6.5] - Generally decent Arch Enemy-esque material. 151. Korpituli - Pohjola [6.5] - Kinda fine folk stuff, didn't notice anything especially noteworthy about it. 152. 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. 153. Powerwolf - Wake Up The Wicked [6.5] - Some decent catchy tracks here, some underwhelming cheesy ones too. 154. 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. 155. Phaëthon - Wielder Of The Steel [6.5] - Good trad heavy instrumentation undermined by the 'epic' vocal style. 156. I, Cursed - Death Holograms [6.5] - Brief furious deathgrind onslaught from duo better known for post-metal. 157. Deceased - Children Of The Morgue [6.5] - Deathly thrash with a trad heavy edge, it's fine but nothing too exciting. 158. Nuclear Tomb - Terror Labyrinthian [6.5] - Reasonably decent techy death-thrash. 159. Detach The Islands - A Highly Magnified History [6.5] - Reasonably good mathy, posty hardcore with positive moments but also some underwhelming or tedious moments. 160. Circle Of Sighs - Ursus [6.5] - Wacky and erratic EP but at times quite interesting. 161. Sick/Tired - Whip Hand Paranoia [6.5] - Straight grindcore aggression, reasonably satisfying for such a straight-nosed approach. 162. 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. 163. Duel - Breakfast With Death [6.5] - Stonerish, rambunctuous heavy rock, decent fun without being particularly noteworthy. 164. Zeal & Ardor - Greif [6.0] - Kudos for continuing to try and innovate their sound, but I found this a bit boring on first listen. 165. Death Racer - From Gravel To Grave [6.0] - Lots of raw blackened thrash energy, a bit primitive and limited though. 166. 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. 167. Sickrecy - Sickrecy / SlothPhantomMoth [Split] [6.0] - Just 5-10 min of pretty decent grindcore. 168. 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. 169. Alleviate - DMNS [6.0] - Competent but somewhat bland djent metal/deathcore. 170. Anna Pest - You And Me At The End Of The Fucking World [6.0] - The technical, djenty, extreme slant of this metal/deathcore is generally pretty good but not great; not convinced by some of the dabblings with e.g. turn-of-the-millennium catchy clean choruses. 171. In Hearts Wake - Incarnation [6.0] - Metalcore with good moments but cheesy electronics. 172. 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. 173. Within The Ruins - Phenomena II [5.5] - Found this a bit tedious and boring despite some good moments. 174. 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. 175. Gravemind - Introsphere [5.5] - Listenable enough, but a fairly effective microcosm of the more tedious trends in the current x-core scenes. 176. Mushroomhead - Call The Devil [5.5] - Rather bland, but not inherently bad, alt metal. 177. Blues Pills - Birthday [5.5] - Competent but boring retro rock. 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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