[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.

[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.

[8.5]

[8.5] - The Death Floyd answer to Enslaved's Black Floyd, a great evolution for them.

[8.0] - A grower, and a very welcome return from these sludgy prog giants.

[8.0] - Quality mix of blackened prog with dreamy/gazey sounds.

[8.0] - The latest chamber/hardcore/metal fusion, and a very accomplished one at that.

[8.0] - Another evolution for the band, generally mellower sound that's accessible and enjoyable, slightly behind Vadak in pathos and Naiv in fun.

[8.0] - More dreamy Elder-lite goodness from DiSalvo.

[8.0] - Fades out a bit, but some really nice stuff in the first two-thirds.

[8.0]

[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.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Despite the move from Mesoamerica to Japan, the inspiration in this project has not waned.

[8.0] - Tight, tasty dissonant DM debut.

[8.0] - Strong post-metal with heaviness, eeriness and ethereal elements all appearing.

[8.0]

[8.0]

[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.

[8.0]

[8.0]

[8.0]

[8.0] - Slightly more cacophonic follow-up to Mesterin Kynsi.

[8.0] - Gone more post-rock compared with last albums, but pulls it off very well; slight modern Elder/Delving edge at times.

[8.0] - Really nicely melodic death/doom.

[8.0] - Frenetic, varied cacophony of black, death, industrial and other metal styles.

[8.0] - Cool BTBAM-esque prog-deathcore.

[8.0] - Bit heavy on the ambience in the final track, but a great return from half of the Affliction-era Blindead line-up.

[8.0] - Olli-Pekka Laine resurrects the sound of Elegy-era Amorphis quite sumptuously here.

[8.0] - Exuberant symphonic deathcore/melodeath with extravagant arrangements, one of the best albums in the style in the recent years.

[8.0] - Very good symphonic deathcore/prog-death with very decent clean vocals.

[8.0] - Gone more disso-black here, and pretty intense and gripping.

[8.0] - Strong black(ened) metal release with melodic and avant-garde hints.

[8.0] - Zeuhl metal still sounds great second time around.

[8.0] - Solid prog/techy death with punishing dissonance in the heavier moments.

[8.0] - Folk/post-rock fusion with occasional metal leanings from Enslaved, Wardruna and Trelldom alumni.

[8.0] - Very cool album with a lot of influence from Devin Townsend.

[8.0] - Strong melodicism and variety; much better than Abreaction and possibly the best since Restoration.

[8.0] - Post-tinged dissonant blackened death with good riffs and strong atmospherics.

[8.0] - No-frills riff frenzy.

[8.0]

[8.0] - The band's bold evolution continues with mostly successful results.

[8.0] - Chunky black-tinged screamo with some great genre diversions.

[8.0] - Intense, exhilarating dissonant blackened death.

[8.0] - Nicely brooding and ominous post-metal.

[8.0] - Strong dissonance-infused prog death.

[8.0] - More cool hypnotic trippiness, with a bit more dissonance than e.g. Oranssi Pazuzu.

[8.0] - Very solid d/d with great melodic lead guitar parts.

[8.0] - Finally some proper tasty djent this year.

[8.0] - Strong debut from quasi-supergroup playing disso-tinged black/death.

[8.0] - Solid, adventurous death metal one-song album.

[8.0] - Less eclectic than the last album, but smooth and warm.

[8.0] - Very similar mix of fuzzy, emotional and occasionally cheesy as the last album had.

[8.0] - Bit too long for me, but impressively gargantuan and chaotic death metal onslaught.

[8.0] - Proggier than Vile Rites, but this is unapologetically (and frequently dissonant) death metal around the progginess.

[8.0] - Enjoyable ritualistic slant to parts of this solid black metal album.

[8.0] - Tasty hardcore-leaning sludge, songs are angry and heavy but still have groove.

[8.0] - More Negura Bunget-esque than I remember their previous efforts being, I'm enjoying this quite a bit.

[8.0] - Fun, catchy meloblack-lite.

[8.0] - Exquisitely intense and hellish atmosphere, strong use of guitar leads.

[8.0] - Blackened and stoner hints in an atmospheric sludge sound, it works really well together.

[8.0]

[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.

[8.0]

[8.0]

[8.0] - Once again strikes a good balance between discordance, technicality, oddball elements and appreciable riffs/grooves/solos.

[8.0] - Some of the more entertaining and engaging psych rock I've heard in a while, and frequently spills over into stoner metal territory.

[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.

[8.0] - Quite fascinating black-tinged jazz metal sound.

[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.

[8.0] - It's a patience-testing album length, but I really just enjoy the vibe of this guy's music; reminiscent of Wyatt E.

[8.0] - Maybe best album yet from them; still got that Jesu gaziness but more post-metallic and has some great songs/memorable moments.

[8.0]

[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.

[8.0] - Accomplished, compelling prog death album heavy on the prog.

[8.0] - Really fun 'symphonic thrash' sound.

[8.0] - Typical-sounding but upper-tier Finnish-sounding melodeath from Germany.

[8.0] - At-times gazey, occasionally fierce, often tranquil melo/atmo-black that shines due to the heavy clean vocal presence.

[8.0]

[7.5] - Perhaps overlong, but some very solid Gojira-esque prog that nails the heavier parts and also does quite well with the softer tracks, albeit a bit over-derivative.

[7.5] - Seems like this is to Delving what Delving is to Elder; it's still very nice stuff.

[7.5] - Solid black metal with a very neat incursion into post-black territory with clean vocals on Meaningless.

[7.5] - Solid techy death metal base with nice melodic/atmospheric/proggy hints to elevate songs.

[7.5] - Another impressive effort in genre-blending.

[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.

[7.5] - Solid post-y djent/prog-metal.

[7.5] - Typical-sounding but rather evocative post-metal.

[7.5] - Very respectable Panopticon-esque atmo-black.

[7.5] - Very respectable melodeath with some great songs, riffs and solos, just a smidge shy of the next level due to consistency.

[7.5] - Generally strong single-song post-black album.

[7.5] - A few moments that go awry, but the Gojira/Trivium-influenced symphonic alt/prog sound produces some great moments.

[7.5] - Solid bleak post-metal.

[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.

[7.5] - 78-minute extravaganza of modern prog metal in the vein of acts such as Native Construct.

[7.5] - A bit more melodic and a bit djentier than the last album; a few misses, but some really strong hits.

[7.5] - Cool brass metal sound.

[7.5] - Typical but very well-crafted post-metal.

[7.5] - Nice 'spiritual successor to Dillinger Escape Plan' sound.

[7.5] - Cool mix of different sounds (I picked up gothic, gazey, post-y sounds at least) with a melodic death/doom core.

[7.5] - Solid post-metal with some exciting heavy-hitting moments.

[7.5] - Fun, lively, occassionally heavy post-rock.

[7.5] - Very solid stoner rock verging on stoner metal.

[7.5] - Another solid effort from this band with a good baseline level of enjoyment along with occasional great highlights.

[7.5] - Well-made post-black that doesn't fall easily into any particular niche.

[7.5] - Gnarly guitar tone elevates OSDM passages, but more interesting when it goes in blackened and atmospheric directions.

[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.

[7.5] - Quirky extreme prog with some intriguing intense parts and lush retro-prog melodic parts, just a shade below some of the other outstanding albums in the genre this year.

[7.5] - Pretty fierce and tasty, one of their better ones in a while.

[7.5] - Brief yet strong mix of doom, sludge, black and core sounds.

[7.5] - Soothing psych rock with very mellow vibes.

[7.5] - Rather cool blackened occult rock/metal sound with some very strong solos.

[7.5] - Pretty sick black/drone/noise mix.

[7.5] - Classic GIAA, one of their best in a while; title track is a highlight.

[7.5] - Fierce, exciting emoviolence, bit mathy in parts.

[7.5] - Quirky but accessible and enjoyable art-rock.

[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.

[7.5] - Doesn't have the peaks of Thalassic, but it continues a relative revival for the group after the underwhelming 2010s they had.

[7.5] - Bit thin in places, but overall found it to be a really nice modern prog/djent album with pleasant melodic textures.

[7.5] - Brief but impactful atmospheric black-tinged hardcore onslaught.

[7.5] - Chonky dissonant blackened death with nice atmospheric aspects.

[7.5] - Cool Middle Eastern-influenced drone/doom/folk sound, bit Wyatt E/Om-esque.

[7.5] - Respectably eclectic yet coherent extreme metal.

[7.5] - Solid sludge/noise rock combo.

[7.5] - Cool extreme metal with neat prog and melodic sojourns that elevate the music.

[7.5] - Some of the most enjoyable TPT songs I've heard.

[7.5] - Pretty cool album with long-form sludge doom songs.

[7.5] - Cool doomy post-metal with strong vocals and dramatic flair.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Pretty tasty drone doom.

[7.5] - Rampant blackened thrash with exciting tonality.

[7.5] - Intriguing melange of sound, some disturbing and insidious sound effects surrounding the industrial black metal sound.

[7.5] - Distinctive and intriguing post-y sludge sound.

[7.5] - Solid melodeath/folk.

[7.5] - Very typical Finnish folk/melodeath EP, but also very enjoyable.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Rather enjoyable proggy genre-fluid stuff with hints of Arcturus and nice melodic sensibilities.

[7.5] - Diverse, well-crafted sound spanning alternative metal with Julie Christmas hints, prog tendencies, and harsher moments, with quite an eerie vibe overall.

[7.5] - Quite brief, and missing the standout songs that The Fallen Crimson had, but the overall sound is very pleasant.

[7.5] - Solid post-metal EP.

[7.5] - Rather pleasant Anathema/Porcupine Tree-esque moody soft British prog rock.

[7.5] - Solid, evocative, occasionally dreary melodic death/doom.

[7.5] - Solid post-y, sludge, sometimes melodic sound with strong lead guitar work.

[7.5] - Fun, exciting psych/stoner hard rock debut.

[7.5] - Interesting mix of doom, post-, electronic and drone elements.

[7.5] - Thick and ugly debut EP.

[7.5] - Fun high-energy sludgy album with a bit of a Mastodon-lite vibe.

[7.5] - Occasional metallic outbursts, but more shoegaze/space rock/ambient-oriented.

[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.

[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.

[7.5] - Nice varied listen spanning several understated and moody genres.

[7.5] - Evil, dissonant blackened grindcore.

[7.5] - Melancholic, resonant death/doomgaze.

[7.5]

[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.

[7.5] - Same as usual, but still very entertaining.

[7.5] - Fairly solid black/post sound, feel like I preferred previous albums.

[7.5] - 90 minutes is too long for me, but the djenty jazz piano style is certainly unique and intriguing.

[7.5] - Rather cool heavy, gloomy, slightly gazey/post-punky sound; a touch of Chelsea Wolfecore to it, but rockier.

[7.5] - Fairly nasty sludge doom with some harsher ambient parts.

[7.5] - Mad, frenzied fusion of death, grind and black metal.

[7.5] - Gazey album, but also one that leans into heavier sounds from post-metal and metalcore.

[7.5] - Solid pivot in a post-black direction.

[7.5] - Relentless cacophony, pretty good overall.

[7.5] - Bit too emotionless classic prog at times, but also has some very solid writing on several tracks.

[7.5] - Compact, crunching sludge/noise rock/hardcore fusion.

[7.5] - Pretty good and sad gothic stuff.

[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.

[7.5] - Rather enjoyable mix of folk, melodeath, power and symphonic metal.

[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.

[7.5] - Bleak, groovy sludge with atmospheric elements.

[7.5] - Very retro-sounding prog metal, but accomplished at it.

[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.

[7.5] - Fun mix of occult, western and surf rock.

[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.

[7.5] - Somewhere between Gunman and Final Days, another strong entry from one of power metal's strongest forces at present.

[7.5] - Another solid melody-heavy black metal release.

[7.5] - Strong metalcore EP with black and post- elements.

[7.5] - Solid blackened album with some melodic and post- elements.

[7.5] - A mature and well-realized symphonic prog rock sound with modern and pop sensibilities.

[7.5] - Cool Gojira-esque pre-debut EP from groove/prog/death French band.

[7.5] - Really nice gentle gothic rock/metal album that carries over hints from the constituent members' main bands.

[7.5] - Enjoyable melodish blackened metal.

[7.5] - Good, but as with the last album, the longer songs do quite a bit more for me than the short ones.

[7.5] - Solid heavy alt rock/metal sound with strong lead vocals and good degree of hookiness.

[7.5] - Nice chill EP.

[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.

[7.5] - Conventional but strong gothic doom.

[7.5] - Good return to fun ravey music after the orchestral collab.

[7.5] - Not entirely my thing, but some really pleasant soundscaping elevates it for me.

[7.5] - Enjoyable Finnish-style melodeath with some impressive Coloradan guests.

[7.5] - Another chaotic onslaught of dissonant madness, found this perhaps marginally more approachable than my previous attempts at listening to them.

[7.5] - Faintly melodic black metal with a good aura and high intensity.

[7.5] - Solid prog/alt debut EP from band with ex-Palm Reader, Toska and Black Peaks members.

[7.5] - Generally strong melody-tinged black metal.

[7.5] - Enjoyable stoner/sludge-leaning doom.

[7.5] - Solid enough Nile worship.

[7.5] - Nice range from dark ambient electronica to electro-prog rock.

[7.5] - Nice Chelsea Wolfe-esque gloomy sound with a bit more of a metallic doom slant.

[7.5] - Strong doom debut with some occasional more extreme hints, including faint blackened touches.

[7.5] - Solid occult mesh of retro rock, doom and stoner sounds, good vocals and riffs.

[7.5] - Solid post-hardcore with great solos and clearly above-average writing.

[7.5] - Enjoyable, easy-going melodic death/doom.

[7.5] - Slightly murkier blackgaze sound, pretty good; final song is strong.

[7.5] - Rather nice, if slightly inconsistent, prog/metalcore/melodeath mix.

[7.5] - Bit 'all flair, no substance' to begin with, but grows into itself with some more memorable writing from Morphine Waltz onwards.

[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.

[7.5]

[7.5] - I like it in the moments where it goes more Fallujah-ish, like the closing track.

[7.5] - Nicely melodic, atmo-leaning black metal.

[7.5] - Delicate, dreamy instru-djent.

[7.5] - Not really any grindcore as advertised, but core-tinged sludgy post stuff with an interesting style.

[7.5] - Blackgaze with a slight distinct flavour to it, really like the artwork.

[7.5] - Slick psych rock album with some great noodly mellow jams.

[7.5] - Clearly above-average instrumental post-rock/metal with some nice guitar motifs and song structuring to feel somewhat fresh.

[7.0] - Reasonably solid and varied modern black metal.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Nice catchy melodic death/doom.

[7.5] - Occasionally brings out the hardcore, but is tastiest when unleashing nasty sludge riffs.

[7.5] - Solid doomy occult rock.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Noise rock with resemblances to the Faith No More aspects of TDEP.

[7.5] - Cavernous doomy dissodeath.

[7.5] - This band's still a bit too 'straight raw BM' for my tastes, but songs do have good riffs.

[7.5] - Pleasant folk/prog mesh.

[7.5] - Similar to previous albums of theirs, pretty good and enjoyable sound here.

[7.5] - Neat industrial-tinged black metal sound with nice melodic hints.

[7.5]

[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.

[7.5] - Very Voidhanger-esque dissonant black/death.

[7.5] - Feisty, crunching death/doom.

[7.5] - Nasty brutal-leaning sludgy death.

[7.5] - Feels more meloblack than blackgazey, it's good enough post-black for sure.

[7.5] - Quite King Gizz-y prog album.

[7.5] - The mix of post-hardcore/screamo, indie, blackgaze and some other eclectic sounds is a compelling one overall.

[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.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Arguably overlong songs, but solid blackgaze/atmo-black.

[7.5] - Well-rounded death/doom with bleakness but nice melancholic melodies too.

[7.5] - Bit more driving than the last album, fine but losing even more of the memorable warmth from Manos.

[7.5] - Quite a lot of variety on this album, from blackgaze to melodeath and sorrowful atmo-black; generally I like the different approaches.

[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.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Vicious, at-times ballistic blackened death.

[7.5] - Enjoy the ways in which it goes more malevolent around the tech-deathcore.

[7.5] - Pleasantly melodic alt/prog stuff.

[7.5] - Not sure how beneficial the saxophone is overall, but the general gloomy funeral doom writing is above-average and evocative.

[7.5] - Pretty solid and engaging blackened death.

[7.5] - Frenetic, full-pelt meloblack debut with some trad/speed hints.

[7.5] - Rather enjoy the slow, monolithic nature of the trudging title track.

[7.5] - Kinda doomy, kinda gothic, kinda proggy, pretty good.

[7.5] - Solid post-metal with a nice touch of personality to it despite being mostly very genre-conforming.

[7.5] - High-energy, occasionally harsh heavy/power melodic sound.

[7.5] - Above-average power metal in another underwhelming year for the genre.

[7.5] - Blackgaze/atmo-black/meloblack with some dreamy and some intense moments.

[7.5] - Fun retro visit to 70s Southern rock.

[7.5] - Not entirely conventional post-metal, has some intriguing moments.

[7.5] - Mean sludgy hardcore with some brief alt/industrial detours; I can vibe with this a bit more than Malevolence or Code Orange.

[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.

[7.5] - Fairly solid death/doom with some satisfying riffs and guitar leads.

[7.5] - Decent two-long-song instrumental post-metal album with quite a crunchy tone.

[7.5] - Nice modern melodic prog rock, hints of heavier Dear Hunter in it.

[7.5] - Stoner-heavy bluesy heavy rock with good vocals, riffs and writing.

[7.5] - Brief, tense, manic mathcore bordering on grindcore/powerviolence.

[7.5] - Impressive modern addition to the congested instru-post scene.

[7.5] - Nasty sludge with occasional leanings towards extremity, although the primitiveness occasionally causes it to drag.

[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.

[7.5] - Cheesy but pleasantly catchy.

[7.5] - Another fun deathcore-tinged power metal EP, although the opening spoken word track is overkill on an EP this short.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Vibrant melodic prog metal with slightly underwhelming vocals holding it back a bit.

[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.

[7.0] - Pleasant melodic prog rock.

[7.0] - Heavily Cult Of Luna-influenced, but still very enjoyable.

[7.0] - Generally par for the band, but a bit less impactful than previous albums, and with a couple of iffy tracks/moments.

[7.0] - Conventional but enjoyable atmoblack.

[7.0] - Gnarly, droning sludge/stoner doom 20-minute single-song EP with a hench production.

[7.0] - Good Peaceville gothic doom metal revivalism.

[7.0] - Soothing, serene, evocative blackgaze, has its great moments.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fairly solid symphonic death stuff.

[7.0] - Very lo-fi but very convicted screamo.

[7.0] - Nice enough stoner split.

[7.0] - Above-average spin on electronicky alt-metallish sound.

[7.0] - It's just power metal, but it's fairly good.

[7.0] - Conventional but solid blackgaze.

[7.0] - Retro-psych/prog rock.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fairly tasty metalcore/deathcore debut EP.

[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.

[7.0] - Pretty solid grindcore, fairly ballistic but also has some brief lighter post-hardcore moments that expand its pallette.

[7.0] - Fun stoner/sludge combo with good riffs and guitar work on both ends of the spectrum.

[7.0] - Bit more taken with this one than their previous album, kinda quirky and bouncy with the math rock vibes.

[7.0] - Bit of a Wovenhand understated Plains folk rock sound.

[7.0] - Enjoyable synth rock with saxophone, major shift from past couple of releases.

[7.0] - Solid instrumental stoner metal, nice heavy vibe.

[7.0] - Folk black metal with mandolin from people in Véhémence and Hanternoz, fairly solid.

[7.0] - Reasonably good post-black effort, nice Sharon Shazzula cameo.

[7.0] - Fun thrash/melodeath one-man project.

[7.0] - Pleasant instru-post.

[7.0] - Solid but flawed reprise of their Divine Revolution style.

[7.0] - Quite unique-sounding folk-influenced heavy/doom sound.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fairly fun and substantial sludge split.

[7.0] - A chaotic avantgarde mix of grindcore, polyrhythmic grooves, classic thrashing riffs, and a host of disparate sounds.

[7.0] - Understated stoner rock/metal vibe, vocals are a bit soporific at times but overall feel is enjoyable.

[7.0] - A few iffy songs slightly drag down an otherwise very good hard rock/metal record.

[7.0] - Slightly aimless but quite interesting art rock sound.

[7.0] - Good instrumental post-rock/metal EP.

[7.0] - Nick Cave isn't my jam, but I do quite like this quite symphonic, uplifing effort.

[7.0] - Unsettling noise electronics.

[7.0] - Discordant, dissonant, cavernous avant-garde death metal; impressive but difficult to engage with.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Bleak, brooding post-metal, generally enjoyable but found it slightly lacking in impact.

[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.

[7.0] - Soporific gothic d/d, nice melodies and uses of keys, a greater presence would have elevated the album a tad.

[7.0] - Reasonably solid Dyscarnate-esque modern groovy death sound with some World music elements.

[7.0] - Above-average for brutal death, but is also a bit more dynamic and at-times melodic than usual for the genre.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Tech/disso-death that's a bit too busy but quite often fun.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Vicious balls-to-the-wall death/thrash, well executed.

[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.

[7.0] - Fairly rampant and exciting heavy/power, becomes slightly less inspired the more it leans towards the former style.

[7.0] - A bit one-tone, but catchy, energetic and fun.

[7.0] - Exuberant power metal album with some moments of instrumental intensity; very catchy, energetic, a handful of songs miss the mark but overall good fun.

[7.0] - More varied and more interesting than the last one.

[7.0]

[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.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Like their previous album, generally decent, has some impressive moments but balanced out by some dry parts.

[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.

[7.0] - Solid black metal EP.

[7.0] - Promising debut EP, dissonant and hectic core-leaning tech-death.

[7.0] - Indie punk sound, for lack of a better word, quite fun and melodic.

[7.0] - Good songs from The Otolith, not quite as keen on Eagle Twin's contributions.

[7.0] - Couple of duffer songs, but overall some very decent classic heavy metal.

[7.0] - Now fully into heavy shoegaze territory; the couple of harsh vocal moments seem a bit unnecessary but otherwise a pleasant listen.

[7.0] - Dainty soundtracky folk stuff, but a tad lightweight in terms of memorable and impactful material.

[7.0] - Crunchy, at times technical death metal with teeth.

[7.0] - Crusty black metal with faint melodic elements.

[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.

[7.0] - Reasonably good prog with solid vocals.

[7.0] - Quite sinister-sounding Arabian black metal.

[7.0] - Not spectacular, but catchy, pleasant and at-times quite touching.

[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).

[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.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Not too shabby power metal, got some zest to it.

[7.0] - Nasty sludge-core debut EP from ex-LLNN guitarist/vocalist.

[7.0] - Decent death metal with doom and black elements.

[7.0] - Atmospheric meloblack with nice melodies and evocative vibes.

[7.0] - Slam-tinged, blast-heavy deathcore, but surprisingly likeable and textured.

[7.0] - Slightly grindy hardcore, lots of venom and distorted rage.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Quirky, theatrical and elaborate, but not chaotic; it's not a sound I can enjoy for nearly 80 minutes straight.

[7.0] - Fine melo/atmo-black.

[7.0] - Reasonably good gothic doom, definitely sounds stronger in the more melodic parts.

[7.0] - Grim sludge death/doom, slightly one-dimensional.

[7.0] - Jade songs are very good, Sanctuarium ones are pretty bad.

[7.0] - Pretty catchy and riffy metalcore.

[7.0] - Fun retro occult rock with a stoner rock edge.

[7.0] - Good-quality debut melodeath EP.

[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.

[7.0] - Solid enough and suitably bombastic symphonic metal album, although I'm just not that into the songs.

[7.0] - Solid speed metal-leaning classic heavy sound with strong riffs and solos.

[7.0]

[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.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Straightforward driving stoner rock/metal, got funner energy and riffs than some similar albums in the genre this year.

[7.0] - Deathly thrash with teeth.

[7.0] - Reasonably fun, frenetic thrash.

[7.0] - Basically CHVE material but with spoken word and not quite as powerfully atmospheric.

[7.0] - Deathgrind with some interesting moments and a generally above-average level of quality.

[7.0] - Decent power/heavy, nice Hansi Kursch cameo.

[7.0] - Nice doomy soundscapes, the deep clean vibrato vocals get a bit much.

[7.0] - Shorter and more bluntly sludge songs than the last album.

[7.0] - Reasonably good OSDM.

[7.0] - Bit plodding, but generally interesting doom sound.

[7.0] - Fairly solid and heavy instrumental post-metal, but a bit too long to remain consistently engaging.

[7.0] - Fairly fun gothicky occult rock with blackened vocals.

[7.0] - Classic-sounding epic doom.

[7.0] - Decent post-y stuff with occasional stoner/psychedelic elements.

[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.

[7.0] - Respectable instrumental-only post-metal.

[7.0] - Surprisingly enjoyable trad heavy with solid vocals and riffs, albeit the occasional bland song.

[7.0] - Pleasant Ensiferum-lite power metal-oriented folk metal.

[7.0] - Fairly good symphonic power metal album with some frenetic fast songs and other mid-tempo chuggers.

[7.0] - Arabian symphonic metal, bit of a Septicflesh feel.

[7.0] - Relentless lo-fi first wave black/thrash/death evilness.

[7.0] - Bit ballad-heavy, some run-of-the-mill tracks, but some decent PM efforts.

[7.0] - Brutal grind debut EP.

[7.0] - Dreamy ambient atmo-black.

[7.0] - Generally fun and catchy electronic pop/rock album.

[7.0] - Rather decent black/thrash.

[7.0] - Oddball psych black metal EP.

[7.0] - Cacophonic, freeform discordance: I appreciate aspects of the approach, although it can get a bit fatiguing to listen to.

[7.0] - Dainty ambient BM.

[7.0] - Still limited, but a step up from previous efforts.

[7.0] - Bit more up my street than the last effort.

[7.0] - Folk-tinged ambience, above-average for ambient music.

[7.0] - Alt-metal- and metalcore-leaning industrial stuff, above-average for the genre this year even if not great.

[7.0] - 15-minute rampage through 17 grindcore songs, has a bit of personality and fun to it amidst the onslaught.

[7.0] - Reasonably good effort for this band in 2024.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Reasonably good kinda gazey, slightly gothicky, sorta heavy sound.

[7.0] - Interesting first taste of Vincent Cavanaugh's new project, quite electronics-focused.

[7.0] - Pleasant instru-prog/djent debut EP in the Sithu Aye vein.

[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.

[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.

[7.0] - As with a few releases from The Body, I dig the industrial soundscapes, I just hate the vocals so much.

[7.0] - Creepy industrial electronica.

[7.0] - Decent, directly intense screamo.

[7.0] - The horror synths add an interesting dynamic to the music, which on the whole I struggle a bit to engage with.

[7.0] - Continuation of modern-day AIC, sounds fine but forgettable.

[7.0] - Genuinely nails-on-chalkboard at times, but almost in a good way?

[7.0] - Very Myles Kennedy/Alter Bridge, but I'm enjoying this more than Kennedy's new album.

[6.5] - Nice enough to listen to, not as taken with the songs as those on Julius Caesar or Flowers Of Evil.

[6.5] - Reasonably good power metal, a tad too cheesy.

[6.5] - Reasonably enjoyable sound still, as far as retro-sounding speed/first wave black approaches go, and some cool riffs and solos.

[6.5] - More kinda nice ambient stuff, this one more synthy and at-times noisy.

[6.5] - Overall good, if slightly forgettable, instrumental post-rock/metal.

[6.5] - Decent funeral/death doom, but drags somewhat.

[6.5] - Reasonable goth/alt/melodeath mesh, dragged down slightly for me by the cheesier alt-metal elements.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Fairly typical doomy stoner with some slightly tougher moments; has moments where it shines a bit above average.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Reasonably good but unexceptional melodic death/doom.

[6.5]

[6.5]

[6.5]

[6.5] - Diverse, oddball mathcore/grindcore, includes things from a few different genres; bit hit and miss, but quite appealing when on song.

[6.5] - Decent modern metalcore/alt-metal.

[6.5] - Not sure I'm ever going to like this band.

[6.5] - Appropriately cavernous OSDM-inspired death/doom, but just a bit boring.

[6.5] - Competent but kinda ho-hum OSDM.

[6.5] - Reasonably good groove death metal.

[6.5] - Decent but slightly unremarkable sludge-lite.

[6.5] - Perfectly fine but slightly forgettable post-metal.

[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.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Nothing great, but some tasty parts to this deathcore.

[6.5] - Decent grindcore with a nice oddball edge.

[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.

[6.5] - Decent desert rock/stoner metal album that does the basics well without going much beyond this.

[6.5] - Frenetic tongue-in-cheek grind, decent but insufficient variety to remain interesting across 18 tracks.

[6.5] - Moderately interesting grindy sludge EP.

[6.5] - Ambitious symphonic prog concept album, has some satisfyingly soaring power metallic parts, also has a few iffy tracks and parts.

[6.5] - Decent PM cheese, better in the first couple of faster songs.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Competent but forgettable meloblack split.

[6.5] - Some decent catchy tracks here, some underwhelming cheesy ones too.

[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.

[6.5] - Airy, ethereal ambient stuff.

[6.5] - Very Ayreon-esque, but more enjoyable than the last couple of Ayreon albums at least.

[6.5] - Perfectly listenable but overly cheesy and unremarkable power/folk metal.

[6.5] - Slightly peculiar synth-heavy direction from the debut album - has nice elements, but as a whole not as keen on it.

[6.5] - Slightly above-average melodeath of a metalcore persuasion; not huge on the clean choruses.

[6.5] - Slightly above-average deathcore, not overly memorable.

[6.5] - Generally decent Arch Enemy-esque material.

[6.5] - Kinda fine folk stuff, didn't notice anything especially noteworthy about it.

[6.5] - Listenable but forgettable rock.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Perfectly competent, almost a bit power metally at times, but overall slightly dull.

[6.5] - Good trad heavy instrumentation undermined by the 'epic' vocal style.

[6.5] - Brief furious deathgrind onslaught from duo better known for post-metal.

[6.5] - Deathly thrash with a trad heavy edge, it's fine but nothing too exciting.

[6.5] - Reasonably decent techy death-thrash.

[6.5] - Reasonably good mathy, posty hardcore with positive moments but also some underwhelming or tedious moments.

[6.5] - Moderately enjoyable deathcore/grind outing.

[6.5] - Unremarkable black/doom stuff.

[6.5] - Wacky and erratic EP but at times quite interesting.

[6.5] - Straight grindcore aggression, reasonably satisfying for such a straight-nosed approach.

[6.5] - Initially starts off with an above-average ominous atmosphere for stoner doom, but regresses a bit after that point.

[6.5] - Stonerish, rambunctuous heavy rock, decent fun without being particularly noteworthy.

[6.0]

[6.0] - Some good stuff, but too over the shop and some tracks really not for me.

[6.0]

[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.

[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.

[6.0]

[6.0] - Lots of raw blackened thrash energy, a bit primitive and limited though.

[6.0]

[6.0] - Just 5-10 min of pretty decent grindcore.

[6.0] - Boring, dead NWOBHM.

[6.0]

[6.0]

[6.0]

[6.0]

[6.0]

[6.0]

[6.0] - Better than some brutal death, still too close to brutal death for my tastes.

[6.0] - Some fun riffs on here for the genre, unfortunately the vocals aren't great and the choruses don't land.

[5.5] - Found this a bit tedious and boring despite some good moments.

[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.

[5.5]

[5.5]

[5.5] - Listenable enough, but a fairly effective microcosm of the more tedious trends in the current x-core scenes.

[5.5]

[5.5]

[5.0]

[5.0]

[5.0]