[9.0]

[8.5]

[8.5]

[8.5] - Early death metal AOTY frontrunner, what a juggernaut.

[8.0] - Slightly short of their best albums, but a very solid continuation of Empyrean on first listens.

[8.0] - Recognizable as the same band that did the last album, but also with some intriguing new directions; on first listens, I dig it, but think it might need a bit more time to get used to.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Kinda a Kalandra vibe taken heavier, the prog metal riffs remind me of Caligula's Horse, but the softer parts resemble Iamthemorning and folk acts; all comes together great.

[8.0] - Strong and tasty dissodeath/black.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Feisty blackened post-metal debut with some harsher tendencies.

[8.0] - Another transportative odyssey from a consistently lush band.

[8.0] - Impressive melodeath album with elements of Gothenburg and Finnish styles alongside other influences in the genre (Be'Lakor, In Mourning).

[8.0]

[8.0] - Just a really fun sludge prog album.

[8.0]

[8.0]

[8.0] - Really cool sludgy mix of styles with a nice mix of riffiness and emotional melody.

[8.0] - Impressive sludge release with unexpected twists and turns and some great riffs hidden within.

[8.0] - Very similar vibes to Dan Tompkins' solo album, and in a similar ballpark of enjoyability.

[8.0] - Emphatic, grisly post-y sludge.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Quite Lotus Thief-y, a solid follow-up to the debut EP, without perhaps the same ultimate peaks; on the flip side, the final track is sensational.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Bit lighter and bit less drone-oriented than last album; slightly prefer the previous one, but found this very enjoyable.

[8.0] - Would've preferred a full album, but great to hear new stuff from these guys again.

[8.0] - Nasty blackened hardcore, bit more screamo/emo-oriented than most bands in this niche, and that novelty really benefits it.

[8.0] - Oranssi Buddha Rising network hitting the spot once again with a DBR spinoff band, droney and weird.

[8.0] - Really emotionally resonant post-metal, about as good as a generic effort in the style can get.

[8.0] - Nice at-times melancholic melo/post-black with more dissonant and intense moments too, has hints of Schammasch that I really dig.

[8.0] - Very accomplished Amenra worship with some other influences also in play.

[8.0]

[8.0] - As cacophonic, abrasive and impressive as the works of contemporaries such as Rorcal and Calligram, with a nice unexpected change in vibe right near the end.

[8.0] - The latest German tech/prog-death supergroup, I found this more consistently likeable than Alkaloid.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Maybe a bit folkier than usual? Nothing particularly original and a bit cheesy, but overall just very enjoyable.

[8.0] - Solid The Ocean- and TesseracT-influenced prog/post-metal.

[8.0] - Step up from the last one, love the euphoric extremity of Dueling Sunsets.

[8.0] - Fairly unique mesh of doom, psychedelia and goth rock at this point.

[8.0] - Bit riffier and less folksy than the last one, but still hooky and satisfying.

[8.0] - Very accomplished prog-tinged gothic doom debut.

[8.0] - Solid meloblack with sorrowful riffs and melodies and good clean vocals, emotionally resonant stuff.

[8.0] - Accomplished fusion of OSDM-leaning death metal with Blood Incantation-esque sci-fi prog elements, plus a couple of clean wildcards.

[8.0] - Unusual synth-heavy alt/gaze/post sound, really compelling.

[8.0] - The 'accessible' claims are valid, and appreciated, as I can finally find some things to fully latch onto here.

[8.0] - A juggernaut of proggy groove with great riffs, tasty leads and good roaring vocals.

[8.0] - Not as taken on first listens as I was by the previous record, but it's an impressive black metal onslaught.

[8.0] - A bit twee at times, but overall very likeable mix of prog rock, folk, ambient and other styles in often beautiful and charming songs.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Very respectable return to a heavier prog style for Wilson.

[8.0] - Very solid Gothenburg-style record.

[8.0] - Really accomplished mix of stoner and sludge metal with psychedelic, country and soft rock on top of other elements.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Very interesting black metal with ethereal vocals and textures reminiscent of acts like Lotus Thief sandwiched between vicious black metal extremity.

[8.0] - Solid metalcore with some 'tough guy' leanings that initially threw me off, but ultimately has enough capacity for early KSE-style melody and more vicious aggression to work to my tastes.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Gargantuan and long-winded but generally rather compelling blackened death doom.

[7.5] - Fairly novel and compelling spin on deathcore with overt atmospheric and blackened elements that take it significantly beyond most 'blackened deathcore'.

[7.5] - Quintessential post-metal genre effort, nothing revelatory but very satisfying.

[7.5] - Lengthy but impressively multifaceted post-black album.

[7.5] - Substantial step up from the last record in production and songwriting.

[7.5] - Nicely grim sludgy doom with a compelling atmosphere.

[7.5] - Metallic math rock with nice combination of hefty metal distortion with bouncy math rock melody and vocal harmonies, gradually turns increasingly djentier and extreme.

[7.5] - Little bit too much dragging downtime compared with their previous couple, but they're still a hugely listenable group.

[7.5] - Really nice and melodic melancholic death/doom.

[7.5] - Another solid entry into their discog.

[7.5] - Tasty proggish, at-times dissonant sludge/post- EP, the guitar licks on track 2 are especially enjoyable.

[7.5] - Gnarly trudging sludge EP.

[7.5] - I enjoy the retro-prog vibe of the melodic prog elements of it contrasted with the tech-death aspects.

[7.5] - Significant improvement from the debut in terms of songwriting quality and ambition.

[7.5] - Cool ex prog EP with some really nice melodic parts, such as the bluesy solo in Neovortex.

[7.5] - Solid post-/sludge/noise rock sound with fun grooves and resonant emotional parts.

[7.5] - Solid continuation of the last album with a couple of novelties to boot.

[7.5] - Very broad stylistically again, but again manages to hit these different notes successfully each time.

[7.5] - Fairly lush-sounding prog rock/metal, bit more oriented towards the former overall but can be quite crunchy.

[7.5] - Enjoyable High On Fire worship.

[7.5] - Solid post-black with a faint DotI vibe.

[7.5] - Melodeath nicely full of memorable hooks.

[7.5] - Sinister, deeply atmospheric black-tinged industrial metal.

[7.5] - Generally solid once again; the extremity of the second track is a bit of a shake-up, but also less compelling.

[7.5] - More solid prog death this year.

[7.5] - Tasty modern prog stuff, nice mix of atmospherics, crunch and melody.

[7.5] - Nice balance of Tool-ish emotional alt-metal with post-metal textures and heaviness.

[7.5] - A few iffy vocal melodies but for the most part a really fun, lively and hench prog sludge album.

[7.5] - Generally cool album, better than the worst of The Work but falling short of its best songs; lots of clean vocals that are generally well performed, but lacks a bit of the memorability factor of the songwriting on Where Owls...

[7.5] - Quite black metal-heavy, generally considerably better than was feared after the cringe of the title.

[7.5] - Good sinister black/death.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Impressive post-y black metal with cool atmospheres and plenty of aggression.

[7.5] - Bit too Kvelertak-y in the first half, but gets more to my tastes in the last few songs.

[7.5] - Another strong meloblack entry.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Fierce black/death metal with an RLHT/Schammasch fiery energy to it.

[7.5] - Might not be the best year to release an album so derivative of Deafheaven, but it does the sound very well.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Really neat shoegaze/alt rock with a stoner rock edge.

[7.5] - Chonky, rowdy stoner metal with a slight sludge edge.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Intriguing mesh of sludgy venom, stoner groove/melody and Oranssi Pazuzu-esque avantgarde oddness.

[7.5] - Really nice doomy heavy rock with a real tenderness to the writing and very evocative vocals.

[7.5] - Solid prog thrash with some very engaging riffs, solos and melodic touches.

[7.5] - Perhaps not their best effort, but still another solid power metal release with great vocals.

[7.5] - Solid deathcore, but a significant drop down from the last two albums.

[7.5] - Quirky mathcore with skramz, emo and pop elements.

[7.5] - Catchy, enjoyable, bombastic power metal heavy on the symphonics.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Fun symph-deathcore that I'm once again a sucker for.

[7.5] - Fiercely heavy, very tasty for this band.

[7.5] - Very likeable Stratovarius-tinged Finnish power metal.

[7.5] - Satisfying gloomy melodicism to this doomy folk effort.

[7.5] - Tender funeral doom with nice mix of growls and cleans.

[7.5] - Some surprisingly charming and cheerful melody in this album, quite a light-hearted record overall.

[7.5] - Tasty disso-death.

[7.5] - Surprisingly strong effort from the band, some very tasty riffs in there, and occasional surprises such as the blackened touches in the closng track.

[7.5]

[7.5] - The core death metal sound is good, but it gets more interesting when it goes off on tangents such as throat singing.

[7.5] - Enjoyable core-y post-metal EP with genre flexibility.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Mid-year candidate for power metal AOTY, some very solid choruses and songwriting with a high level of energy.

[7.5] - Somewhat rough compositionally, but I found both the atmo-black and folk aspects to overall be very enjoyable.

[7.5] - Fun, vibrant, technical yet accessible.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid proggy tech-death - if the Obscura album is a plagiarized bust, this is a reasonable alternative.

[7.5] - Impressive recapitulation of the sound of Death's mid-era albums.

[7.5] - Cool avant-garde metal, bit erratic in moments but the neofolky spiritual vocals, some of the sludgier grooves, and the intriguing trumpet all are very positive aspects of it.

[7.5] - Enjoyable 20-minute EP with pleasant melodies and engaging songs.

[7.5] - Tasty, cavernous djent-deathcore.

[7.5] - Pleasant, easy-going prog/psych rock record.

[7.5] - Bit more understated than Nemesis & Nativity and lacking a track as strong as Gift Of Life, but still a likeable record with a cool atmosphere.

[7.5] - Brief but solid album, has some nasty sludginess but is also quite post-y and emotional on the closing track.

[7.5] - Nice blackgaze, quite Deafheaven-derivative at times but has some good charm to it.

[7.5] - Solid and stirring folk/power metal.

[7.5] - Lush, rich collection of songs.

[7.5] - Very fun Swancore prog/math post-hardcore.

[7.5] - Consistent band makes more effective gothic doom with some very satisfying emotional peaks, albeit with the general level a bit below that. Perhaps a step up from the previous one.

[7.5] - Solid semi-dissonant black metal.

[7.5] - New music from Daniel R Flys is always nice, and this is a good first effort at a more solo venture.

[7.5] - Solid stoner rock with a darker, heavier crunch, nice haziness to the clean vocals and strong imposing riffs.

[7.5] - Well-made and compelling doomgaze/alt rock.

[7.5] - Solid dissonant black metal.

[7.5] - Very warm, emotionally stirring blackgaze.

[7.5] - Pretty solid post-black.

[7.5] - Solid onslaught of violence with elements of sludge, hardcore and grindcore (and other -cores arguably).

[7.5] - Does nothing wild with the symph/blackened deathcore template, but is hooky and accessible with some solid songwriting.

[7.5] - Fun virtuosic instru-djent, bit annoying with the quirky jazz licks at time, but it's overall impressive, and the flamenco bits are enjoyable.

[7.5] - Solid tech-deathcore.

[7.5] - Fun psych/stoner rock/metal album with good mix of heaviness, fuzz, groove and tangents.

[7.5] - Weird, skronky death doom, heavy on the death.

[7.5] - Dark, catchy, relentless meloblack.

[7.5] - Fun melo-tech-death with neat guest roster.

[7.5] - Mean, janky metallic hardcore.

[7.5] - Fun and exciting prog/tech-death that has a nice variety of moods.

[7.5] - Bleak and oppressive combination of death, black, industrial, sludge and doom elements into an effective package.

[7.5] - Slightly inconsistent throughout, but some great peak songs/hooks in here.

[7.5] - The kind of melodically-inclined (but somewhat screamy), evocative djent-prog that is right up my street.

[7.5] - Very prolific musician, very long songs, but genuinely well-crafted and evocative post-rock/metal songs with prog and atmo-black occasional tendencies.

[7.5] - Pretty gnarly technical deathcore with hooky riffs too.

[7.5] - Solid blackgaze album from guy behind Humanotone with some great solos and riffs.

[7.5] - Definitely enjoyed this more than the last couple, good mix of styles and guest vocalists.

[7.5] - Intriguing and distinctive black-adjacent sound.

[7.5] - Bright, catchy blackgaze.

[7.5] - Cool blackened deathcore with an emphasis on the black metal elements.

[7.5] - Fun, groovy, hooky.

[7.5] - Intriguing djenty metalcore with regular atmospheric elements and often ethereal clean vocals.

[7.5] - Rather enjoyable Lotus Thief-leaning post-metal/post-hardcore sound.

[7.5] - The synth melodies and such are very enjoyable, but across a full album I lose a bit of my affection for it.

[7.5] - Nice emotional melodic death/doom.

[7.5] - Solid sludge with semi-regular post-metal flavours.

[7.5] - Fun, at-times slightly cacophonic blackened/djenty deathcore EP.

[7.5] - Good debut from djenty alt/prog-metalcore act.

[7.5] - Nicely atmospheric and stripped-down post-rock with metallic drone side to it.

[7.5] - Tasty proggy groove metal.

[7.5] - Pleasant blend of 80s/90s alt rock sounds.

[7.5] - Benefits from the reduced runtime compared with its predecessor, stops the somewhat single-track approach becoming tedious.

[7.5] - Solid hellish black metal.

[7.5] - Interesting mesh of blackened, doomy, folky elements within a broadly post-black framework.

[7.5] - Emotional, understated, well-crafted post-rock with a vibe in the vicinity of A Swarm Of The Sun.

[7.5] - Fun core-leaning djent release with some nice melodic layers and grooves.

[7.5] - Fun folky atmo-black.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Pretty nice emotional prog rock/metal with a bit of a Green Carnation feel.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Based on my rating, I evidently didn't care that much for their last one, but I thought this was solidly enjoyable and catchy.

[7.5] - Pretty engaging and hooky (melo)death-leaning thrash.

[7.5] - Feels a bit less attention-grabbing than Nuklearth, but still a demonstration of their place in the upper echelons of this subgenre.

[7.5] - Pretty good and interesting doomy death metal, strings are less prevalent this time around.

[7.5] - Respectable dissodeath with occasional moments of greatness.

[7.5] - Nice dreamy gothic-lite atmosphere.

[7.5] - Consistent with previous Kollapse material stylistically and in terms of quality.

[7.5] - Pretty solid psych rock/doom.

[7.5] - Good gazey/alty/post-y stuff with some nifty motifs.

[7.5] - Voidhanger-esque cacophonic DM with intriguing tertiary elements and textures.

[7.5] - Sounds a bit like a weaker Ghost Brigade, but some nice melodicism.

[7.5] - Cool stoner/psych stuff, sounds best when it's more emotional-sounding and melodic.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Grim trudging sludge doom with a nice level of raw anguish to the vocals.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Fairly gnarly tech-death.

[7.5] - Solid sinister black metal with a few curious curveballs, such as the wind instruments opening track 5.

[7.5] - Fairly tasty mesh of djent, deathcore, prog-death and tech-death; decent diversity (quality solo in Fragments).

[7.5] - Bit shorter and more digestible than last couple of albums, still generally solid writing.

[7.5] - Pretty typical but effective and enjoyable post-metal.

[7.5] - Somewhere between Orphaned Land and Bloodywood, makes use of Middle Eastern and other Asian instrumentation with more of an alt-metal backbone.

[7.5] - Tasty symph-tinged thall deathcore.

[7.5] - Some very nice easy listening vibes music.

[7.5] - Nifty extreme prog album with some quality moments (particularly the melodic second half of Law), but also some slight shortcomings in terms of songwriting cohesiveness.

[7.5] - Evocative and engaging post-black with dreamy gazey clean vocals and semi-regular blackgaze textures.

[7.5] - Firmly above-average OSDM revivalism, enjoying the lead guitar work.

[7.5] - Nice folkish touches to this meloblack.

[7.5] - Nicely engaging instru-post.

[7.5] - Shades of Deafheaven to this post-black/blackgaze.

[7.5] - Hooky and intense retro power metal release with occasional leanings towards more extreme elements, and other songs going in a more trad-heavy direction.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Interesting album, a bit scattered stylistically but with semi-regular great moments.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Decent instru-post with nice synths.

[7.5] - Fun, rapid synth-tech-deathcore.

[7.5] - Effective extreme doom album with elements of death and black metal.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Generally missing the intensity that made the previous albums so compelling.

[7.5] - Solid but unspectacular dissonant tech-death.

[7.5] - Cool dingy sludge EP.

[7.5] - Fun folk/extreme power with some old Wintersun vibes.

[7.5] - Not super fond of the hoarse vocals, and some tracks come and go a bit, but there's also some with very solid melodies/hooks (e.g. Towards The Absence Of Light).

[7.5] - Has some wayward parts, and I'm slightly tired of Lemos' style in general, but there's some beautiful acoustic guitar work in the final track.

[7.5] - Very respectable epic heavy metal with moody vocals.

[7.0] - Fun, upbeat psych rock album.

[7.0] - Solid extreme metal-leaning metalcore.

[7.0] - This one works better for me and captures the evil vibe of the debut more effectively than last year's album.

[7.0] - Bright, overtly melodic and uplifting blackgaze/modern prog release.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Upper-level epic heavy metal with very long songs.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Spans a few aspects of alt-metal (modern Gojira riffing, groove metal, bit more nu metal parts) with prog leanings too, some whiffy parts but also quite a lot of it is pretty enjoyable.

[7.0] - Regular but enjoyable symph-deathcore.

[7.0] - Standard but solid melodically inclined atmo-black.

[7.0] - Alt/prog with some of the major strengths and cons of the former genre sat alongside one another.

[7.0] - Grisly melodeath with plenty of death metal in the equation.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Solid grindy blackened death.

[7.0] - Fun prog/jazz rock with only occasional chaotic jazz freakouts.

[7.0] - One of their more compelling releases, nice and heavy and made good use of the sax.

[7.0] - Anathema/Katatonia/Antimatter-esque acoustic gloomy rock.

[7.0] - Generally solid symphonic prog-death, not super keen on the vocals.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Good psych/stoner rock album.

[7.0] - Interesting cinematic prog/post-rock.

[7.0] - Respectable blackgaze/atmo-black with a couple of less compelling tracks.

[7.0] - Another suitably solid but unexceptional atmo-black/blackgaze release.

[7.0] - Ain't Soilwork-tier, but fairly satisfying Gothenburg metal.

[7.0] - Nice baroque-y and extreme-tinged symphonic metal EP with a more 'realistic' orchestral focus than quite a lot of symphonic metal.

[7.0] - Very classic post-metal in the Amenra/CoL mold, doesn't do anything special but does this well, very evocative.

[7.0] - Nothing out of the ordinary, but consistently enjoyable, some nice stoner-ish touches.

[7.0] - Slightly harsher and more post-hardcorey Deafheaven worship.

[7.0] - Another generic but enjoyable predominantly instrumental post-metal album.

[7.0] - Pretty fun black/metalcore with occasional melodeath leanings.

[7.0] - Fun post-hardcore supergroup release.

[7.0] - Enjoyable post-hardcore album.

[7.0] - Impressively accomplished alt-metal teen band, quite emotive in moments.

[7.0] - Solid symph-deathcore, sets the benchmark for SoI and Lorna Shore later in the year.

[7.0] - Solid enough tech-death with dissonant touches.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fierce metallic hardcore, has some irritating moments but generally tasty.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Pretty good blackened doom collab.

[7.0] - Pleasant, unspectacular instru-prog/djent.

[7.0] - Ferocious tech-deathcore.

[7.0] - Above-average rough-and-tumble black-tinged heavy metal.

[7.0] - Bit scattered and inconsistent, but when on song and emphasizing the folk elements, this is a rather enjoyable release.

[7.0] - Surprisingly compelling droning metallic distortion accentuated by organ-style keys and intriguing electronics.

[7.0] - Neat alt/prog debut EP with a few slight rough edges.

[7.0] - Vicious hardcore, slightly headache-inducing.

[7.0] - Fairly typical Finnish melodeath but with a slight air of sophistication to the writing.

[7.0] - The djent and Deftones are both here, but some of the atmospheric hints are also a nice additional touch.

[7.0] - Neat debut disso-death EP.

[7.0] - Nothing remarkable for them, but some catchy hits, better than new KsE.

[7.0] - Enjoyable, catchy symphonic metal with strong, forceful vocals.

[7.0] - Very likeable emo-leaning hard/metalcore.

[7.0] - Interesting Lethe-esque electronic rock with churning electronic distortion foundation giving it a metallic edge.

[7.0] - A bit like modern Monolithe but with more melodic vocals, it's alright doom.

[7.0] - Decent deathly meloblack.

[7.0] - Another respectable atmo-/meloblack effort with a slight sinister edge, gets slightly boring at times though.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Cool post-rock with neat mathy elements.

[7.0] - More melodic than the last one, but also a bit less impressive.

[7.0] - Generally solid blackened folk with slightly underwhelming vocal delivery on some songs and songwriting limitations.

[7.0] - Fairly dirty sludge doom.

[7.0] - Pleasant melodeath - occasionally goes folky, but more compelling on Omnium Gatherum-esque tracks like Escape From Solitude.

[7.0] - Decent deathcore with some fun blackened, melodeath, symphonic and other occasional flourishes on certain songs.

[7.0] - Solid, unspectacular power metal, enjoy the vocals mostly.

[7.0] - It's a cool hyper sound merging symph, tech-death and melodeath elements, but the stop-start nature of the writing is a bit disjointed.

[7.0] - Fun instrumental tech-death/melodic prog EP with symphonic touches.

[7.0] - Decent heavy, frenetic post-hardcore/screamo.

[7.0] - Nice post-rock in the vein of Nordic Giants, bit of Tycho-esque bright ambience too.

[7.0] - Rather reminiscent of Death, has some cool moments, particular the more intricate lead guitar parts.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Nice dark folk stuff.

[7.0] - Some rough edges, but a likeable prog/post-metal album inspired by Outer Wilds.

[7.0]

[7.0] - One of their better releases for me, interesting variety for a 15-minute EP and the grindcore parts hit hard.

[7.0] - Does sound quite a bit like 'Iron Maiden meets doom', and is pretty enjoyable as far as that mix goes.

[7.0] - Decent tech-deathcore.

[7.0] - Still has much of the NNMM charm, but does also go off the deep end at times.

[7.0] - Pretty enjoyable for this sound, some solid rocking and quite a crunchy guitar tone.

[7.0] - Neat, compact and still nicely varied alt rock with heavier leanings.

[7.0] - Fairly catchy, some good elements, but generally not that compelling to me.

[7.0] - An overall very classic-sounding prog-metal style punctuated with occasional prog-death passages.

[7.0] - Well-made instrumental post-/black metal, VII is a highlight with some of the more Enslavedian vibes.

[7.0] - One of their better albums, very catchy.

[7.0] - Enjoyable Avantasia-esque prog/power.

[7.0] - Fairly good, slightly quirky, symph-y melodeath/meloblack.

[7.0] - Somewhat OHHMS-esque quirky sludge-plus style.

[7.0] - Interesting mix of goth rock/new wave with lingering doom metal elements, found it more enjoyable than much of what Idle Hands/Unto Others have done to date.

[7.0] - Generic but enjoyably hooky Finnish melodeath.

[7.0] - Typical but solid doomy sludge that gets surprisingly and pleasantly melancholic near the end.

[7.0] - Some rough moments in the songwriting, particularly compared with the debut, but makes a good impression in the times it comes into its own.

[7.0] - Bright, pleasant but generic instru-djent; a near-hour might be a tad much.

[7.0] - Interesting mix of prog, math, hard rock and other sounds with some occasional ventures towards heavier, more metallic tones, plus wildcards such as rapping on one song.

[7.0] - Respectably metalcore-y melodeath.

[7.0] - Interesting mix of death metal with melodeath and NWOAHM elements, has occasional standout moments (such as the soloing near the end of Endless Madness).

[7.0] - Fun noisy psych/garage rock.

[7.0] - Decent tone to this black metal album, although it didn't grow in the way I hoped it might.

[7.0] - Good album, bit lighter on the gothic and heavier on the death/doom.

[7.0] - Bit variable in quality, and I could do without the trap songs, but the synthwave and industrial metal songs are good fun.

[7.0] - Strange post-/noise rock with heavy moments but also some meandering twee.

[7.0] - Reliable and prolific act releases another decent industrial sludge album.

[7.0] - Solid djent-core EP.

[7.0] - Decent metallic-leaning shoegaze.

[7.0] - Pleasant melodic prog EP with occasional harsh vocals.

[7.0] - Neat psych/stoner doom album, has pleasant dainty psychedelic guitar jamming and soloing, but the more metallic riffs also pack a good punch.

[7.0] - Some nice Iron Maiden-isms across this solid heavy/power album.

[7.0] - Reasonably good theatrical meloblack with symphonic and industrial/electronic elements to it.

[7.0] - Fun, energetic Japanese prog/power with a slight Seventh Wonder feel to it.

[7.0] - Bit too OSDM for my tastes, but above-average for the style, with some very solid riffs and solos popping up.

[7.0] - Conventional but pretty solid melodic death/doom with slight gothic touches.

[7.0] - Between the industrial distortion and dreamy vocals, it's quite reminiscent of Health, but the lighter elements feel a tad more natural here.

[7.0] - Reasonably good funeral doom, has some nice peaks but is also a tad empty at times.

[7.0] - Pleasant and catchy folk/power with slightly overwrought vocals.

[7.0] - Decent prog with some Native Construct-ish quirks, and also occasional forays into slightly extreme territory.

[7.0] - Enjoyably frenetic and occasionally varied symph-tinged meloblack.

[7.0] - Enjoyably bright, vibrant and electronics-heavy blackgaze-y stuff.

[7.0] - Meandering and odd metal-tinged neoclassical dakwave with some neat moments.

[7.0] - Fairly fun power metal-leaning epic heavy.

[7.0] - Quite intriguing post-blackish/post-hardcore stuff, mixture of some rocky rhythms, lively tremolo riffs, pleasant melodic textures - mixed quality of vocal parts.

[7.0] - Pretty solid trad heavy, vocals are the best part.

[7.0] - Enjoyable shoegaze with some heavy distortion.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Better than the debut and overall very likeable, still not quite Spaceslug-tier.

[7.0] - Decent melodic-leaning death metal with bite.

[7.0] - Dreamy, mellow psych rock.

[7.0] - Decent meloblack, some cool shredding solos.

[7.0] - Reasonably fun collection of sludge/stoner, not as good as their previous full-length.

[7.0]

[7.0] - More of the same, and nothing notable, but enjoyable easy listening.

[7.0] - Decent double album, but a bit overlong for the quality of the content.

[7.0] - Solid black metal split.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Mostly enjoyable symph-tinged turn-of-the-millennium Gothenburg worship.

[7.0] - Above-average doomy OSDM with strong guitar lead melodies occasionally woven in.

[7.0] - Catchy, groovy melodic prog.

[7.0] - Lo-fi but likeable mix of sludge, black and doom, quite cavernous and bleak but with occasional sad melodies.

[7.0] - A very competent and pleasant post-rock album with an absence of standout moments.

[7.0] - Good core-leaning tech-death.

[7.0] - Interesting doom/alt rock mix with Vera Farmiga on vocals.

[7.0] - Not convinced by closing orchestral track, but the symph-deathcore songs are all solid enough.

[7.0] - An interesting clean vocal-only/predominantly (not sure) meloblack sound, albeit one I'm not that keen on.

[7.0] - Pleasant, mellow acoustic instrumental folk.

[7.0] - Hectic, fun, overall pretty good instru-djent/prog.

[7.0] - Competent and likeable but unspectacular meloblack EP.

[7.0] - Kinda sparse synth rock.

[7.0] - Reasonably convincing mix of songs spanning their sludge, stoner, doom and drone facets.

[7.0] - Decent mix of noise rock with drone doom.

[7.0] - Fierce, nicely riffy but at-times slightly limited black metal.

[7.0] - Higher-standard thrash in a very conventional style.

[7.0] - Fairly likeable symph(-lite) death metal with Middle Eastern melodic flourishes.

[7.0] - Catchy somewhat CoB-esque melodeath.

[7.0] - Always nice to hear more KSE, but on first listens, it's a bit short on memorable songs.

[7.0] - Mixture of livelier breakcore and slower, moodier industrial, it's pretty interesting.

[7.0] - Pensees Nocturnes-esque quirky black metal.

[7.0] - Black metal core with some interesting technical and blackgaze bits.

[7.0] - Rough and ready black-tinged hardcore with nice raw production and surprising bluesy levity in the final track.

[7.0] - Somewhat up-and-down extreme prog with a fairly distinctive sound.

[7.0] - From a CC entry that was very High On Fire to a full album that is very High On Fire, but it's fast, hooky and fun.

[7.0] - Decent mix of fuzzy groove and more primal aspects, not overly noteworthy for the genre but fairly consistently enjoyable.

[7.0] - Strongly Tool-influenced prog with some cool moments of its own.

[7.0] - Typically Warbringer, feisty but a bit one-dimensional.

[7.0] - Raw and ready speed metal harkening back to the genesis of power metal.

[7.0] - Not at all bad for a band that's been around this long, probably a bit better than the past couple.

[7.0] - By-the-book but fun symph-tinged deathcore EP.

[7.0] - Washed-out sound and tinny cymbals, but pleasant melodic vibe, bit of an Earthside-Crater overarching feel.

[7.0] - Better than their last couple, good stoner/sludge entertainment.

[7.0] - Decent thrashy melodeath, some hints of (good) Machine Head in places.

[7.0] - As with much of their other stuff, there's a good level of competency here, but it's just missing something extra for me to properly latch onto.

[7.0] - Cool, slick stoner rock/metal.

[7.0] - Nice soulful blues hard rock.

[7.0] - Probably above average as far as OSDM goes, don't really hear much to elevate it.

[7.0] - Perhaps covers the whole span of Rye (funeral doom, ambience, black metal) more than other releases, but not my favourite from them.

[7.0] - Interesting dungeon synth-heavy atmo-black.

[7.0] - Reasonably enjoyable avantgarde black with some occassionally mislanding elements (e.g. clean vox).

[7.0] - Competently made power-leaning prog with solid lead vocals and some nice dramatic quirks, but a bit short on engaging hooks.

[7.0] - Gone noise rock compared to the last album, not as keen.

[7.0] - Some fairly lively and entertaining songs here, just wish they didn't have those vocals.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Straight-laced and uninnovative but effective folky meloblack.

[7.0] - Conventional post-metal 2-song EP.

[7.0] - Pretty good metallic alt rock approach, touches on a couple of different rock styles but also has a more aggressive edge.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Not sure if it's better than their previous ones or I'm just a bit more open to this style.

[7.0] - Fairly solid hard rock/heavy metal effort with a couple of songs that relatively stand out.

[7.0] - About as good as this style can be at this point.

[7.0] - Pretty cool proggy/psych stoner rock album.

[7.0] - Good but not overly noteworthy post-metal.

[7.0] - Nice, slightly quirky retro-prog style.

[7.0] - Cheesy but fun symphonic power metal anthems.

[7.0] - Easily likeable synth-heavy djenty alt-metal, a tiny bit like an accessible Mechina but also quite post-punky.

[7.0] - Pretty catchy and entertaining groove thrash.

[7.0] - Overall fairly hooky metalcore.

[7.0] - A good black metal album, but a bit disappointing in how little industrial content it has.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Generally enjoyable melodeath/extreme power-style folk metal.

[7.0] - Pure cheese, but enjoyably catchy.

[7.0] - Fun Children of Bodom worship.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Thrashy grindcore with a bit more character to it than bogstandard grindcore genre entries.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Curious but largely fun mix of bluesy sludge, metalcore, electronic and other elements.

[7.0] - Fairly pleasant symphonic gothic sound, shines brightest in the gentler passages, such as in Eclipse Of Hope; occasional Heilung-style chanting is a bit rogue.

[7.0] - Fun, wacky re-interpretations of 20th century classical tracks.

[7.0] - Easy enough listening, not quite my thing but pleasant grungy vibe.

[7.0] - Competent and likeable stoner-y sludge debut without greater aspirations.

[7.0] - Reasonably good goth-tinged doom.

[7.0] - Lively, hooky NWOTHM with some decent hooks.

[7.0] - Pretty cool traddy metal with raspy vocals.

[7.0] - Industrial accompaniment to the main album, with electronic experiments later on; prefer the variety of styles in part 1, but the cold industrial atmosphere is quite good.

[7.0] - Variable quality of vocal guests and of songs, but generally respectable post-metal with typically melodic vocals.

[7.0] - Likeable math rock/djent-core EP.

[6.5] - An odd album; there's times where it'll throw out a great riff or interesting atmosphere, but also a bit too much of it is just a bit murky and unengaging.

[6.5] - Probably their most ambient/drone-oriented release, albeit getting more substantial in the latter stages - it's pretty cool, although slightly lacking in substance.

[6.5] - Fairly good melodeathy metalcore that didn't quite capture my attention.

[6.5] - Started off fairly strong; when it turned more into crusty OSDM, I found myself losing a bit of interest.

[6.5] - Nicely catchy arena-style heavy/prog metal.

[6.5] - Kinda fine ambient-y atmo-black.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Competent, pleasant, passingly enjoyable, ultimately not that interesting: modern Katatonia to a tee really.

[6.5] - Reasonably catchy and passingly enjoyable folk metal.

[6.5] - Curious to see them going with extreme vocals - it's OK, just not that into it.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Decent aura to this psych rock album, but also the songs aren't that interesting.

[6.5] - Pretty good hardcore for the style, still has enough run-of-the-mill aspects of it to avoid getting too excited by it.

[6.5] - Odd and at-times awkward but quite charming genre fusion.

[6.5] - At-times quirky crusty grind.

[6.5] - Questionable vocals and synth tones, but some enjoyable songwriting in this.

[6.5] - Overall enjoyable prog/power, particularly the Ensiferum folksy guitar melodies on e.g. Foundation To Firmament; unfortunately the vocals drag it down slightly (competent but a bit dull).

[6.5] - Reasonably good and has a couple of songs that tempt revisits (Premonition, Aeon Of The Crescent Moon), but a bit too much is folk-by-numbers.

[6.5] - The stoner rock songs are fine but nothing special, but I do quite like the drawn-out semi-melodic trudge of Short Hair With A Wig.

[6.5] - Decent melodeath that doesn't quite grip me, but is fine listening while it's on.

[6.5] - Found this In Flames-y melodeath/metalcore broadly pretty likeable, but let down in a few places by excess cheese/sap or otherwise awkward writing.

[6.5] - Kinda fun instrumental symphonic metal - some songs have SoI-esque deathcore leanings, others are a bit folkier/melodeathy. It's overlong, but broadly enjoyable.

[6.5] - Reasonably good djenty metalcore.

[6.5] - Fairly charming proggy melodeath slightly sold short by the clean vox.

[6.5] - Competent and reasonably likeable, albeit fairly forgettable, symphonic death metal.

[6.5] - Suitably fun Fury Road-themed psych rock EP.

[6.5] - Pleasant but unexceptional doomy gothic rock/metal, some songs are a tad threadbare.

[6.5] - Fairly good gothicky melodeath, won't necessarily rush back to it but some nice melodies in there.

[6.5] - Pleasant if unremarkable post-rock with occasional heavier passages.

[6.5] - Starts off fairly well with the folk touches in the black metal; overall, ultimately falls a tad short of being consistently engaging.

[6.5] - Fairly good folky meloblack with a few less impressive parts.

[6.5] - Generally good funeral doom with some nice flourishes in parts, but also mediocre clean vocals and falling into some pitfalls of the genre.

[6.5] - Generally pleasant and well made, somewhat catchy but also fairly impactless alt-metal record.

[6.5] - Mix of alt rock and (pop) punk that's not quite my thing.

[6.5] - Mid but enjoyable sludge.

[6.5]

[6.5] - I struggle with his vocals, they sound out-of-tune at times, the songs themselves are ok but forgettable.

[6.5] - Thought this was a perfectly fine if unremarkable addition to their discog.

[6.5] - Has some good Teramaze magic, but also some awkward mishits, particularly among the first handful of tracks.

[6.5] - Fairly satisfying sludge doom, but lacking a bit of extra spice to rise above the pack.

[6.5] - Decent but generic stoner doom split.

[6.5] - Straightforward grindcore with good production.

[6.5] - Nicely catchy cyberpop-metal, somewhat hit and miss but found it quite likeable.

[6.5] - Good but unspectacular sludge.

[6.5] - Somewhat soporific psych rock but with some good tracks.

[6.5] - Reasonably likeable catchy industrial metal with good vocals.

[6.5]

[6.5]

[6.5] - Instrumentally, the mix of mathcore, post-hardcore and lighter sounds works well; I just can't acclimatize to the vocals.

[6.5] - Some cool solos, bit too typically OSDM for me.

[6.5] - Wacky, quirky, cacophonic TOOH-esque grindcore.

[6.5] - The soundscapes are pleasant as ever, but Wulf's weaknesses as a vocalist feel unusually exposed this time around.

[6.5] - Vocals are good, some parts of the songs are good, others are quite bland for alt/nu metal.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Some good riffs in this blackened thrash, but also some awkward/cheesy moments.

[6.5] - Some definite good moments, but not consistently engaging, and overdoes the balladry.

[6.5] - Pleasant, slightly unremarkable acoustic folk with occasional enchanting moments.

[6.5] - Has solid moments, but the avantgarde dissonance is janky to a grating extent.

[6.5] - Perfectly competent, but it baffles me that something so completely lacking in character gets so highly rated.

[6.5] - Reasonably enjoyable, decent melodic edge without leaning too much on it, still just straight thrash though and serves up the boring moments from time to time to prove it.

[6.5] - Similar to above, very dry but not incompetent.

[6.5] - Very Voidhanger, for better and worse.

[6.5] - Brief, raw grindcore flurry with a few slower, dingier tracks to add a touch of variety.

[6.5] - Good moments and perhaps a bit better than the last one, but there's an inherent blandness to them.

[6.5] - Interesting mix of melodeath, metalcore and other accessible styles, bit up and down in quality but enjoy some songs a fair amount.

[6.5] - Straightforward but decent sludgy grindcore/hardcore.

[6.5] - Fairly good deathcore with satisfying use of electronics.

[6.5] - Reasonably good sludgy hardcore, but the songs struggle to go to another level beyond the base level of murky anger.

[6.5] - Decent use of orchestrations, but perhaps a tad lacking in direction.

[6.5] - Bit of an up-and-down EP, but some cool parts of this djenty metalcore release.

[6.5]

[6.5]

[6.5] - Decent heavy industrial-leaning noise rock undercut by me just not digging this vocal style.

[6.5] - Decent but unremarkable sludge.

[6.5] - Definitely better than an album from a project this old and turbulent could be, the stoner-leaning elements and chiller jam parts are pretty neat, but the vocals aren't great.

[6.5] - Fairly catchy and easy-going alt rock EP.

[6.5] - More retro rocky than doom compared with what I remembered; nice sound but not too enamoured with it.

[6.5] - Reasonably good djentcore with some more melodic/atmospheric touches.

[6.5] - Bit of a poor man's Ad Infinitum (pre-Abyss, at least), but quite likeable aside from some cringe moments and nu metal flirtations.

[6.5] - Improvement on the last album, still a bit dry but some decent alt/death/thrash riffs.

[6.5] - Generally likeable, if unremarkable, atmoblack with fairly prevalent Mesarthim-ish synths.

[6.5] - Mildly decent melodeath, some melancholic hints but also some latter In Flames vibes.

[6.5] - Fairly ambitious mix of different prog and alt rock styles, including in some rather long songs; works better in some places than others.

[6.5] - Synth metal with some Mechina-esque effects-laden vocals, decent at what it does, not amazing.

[6.5] - Decent heavy rock/metal, more fun when it's leaning towards the hard rock rather than the trad heavy.

[6.5] - Grim OSDM/doom, slightly dry but decent.

[6.5] - Mildly enjoyable death-leaning industrial metal EP with subpar production and slightly dry sound.

[6.5] - 18 tracks, 9 minutes, frantic onslaught of grindcore microsongs.

[6.5] - Solid but conventional grindcore let down a bit by irksome guttural vocals.

[6.5] - Not a fan of how the flute/pipe has been integrated, otherwise ok.

[6.5] - Fairly solid metalcore/hardcore, some mathy elements but more beatdown-oriented without being too 'macho BS'.

[6.5] - Djenty metalcore, some catchy grooves and melodic hooks, bit cheesy at times.

[6.5] - Reasonably competent and catchy metalcore album, but no songs gripping me; at least it's short.

[6.5] - Vlidhjarta-esque thall, all-instrumental; good, but too invariant for my tastes.

[6.5] - Competent but unremarkable attempt, atmosphere is nice in places but not consistently compelling.

[6.5]

[6.0] - The 'clean' vocal bits kinda suck; otherwise, it's reasonably competent metalcore but just boring - songs like Trenches feel so dry to me.

[6.0] - Fine power/hard rock anthems with a bit lacking to be better than average.

[6.0] - Some decent crunchy songs alongside wet melodic ones.

[6.0] - Feels more accessible alt-rock (and not in an enjoyable way) than I can remember their previous one being.

[6.0]

[6.0] - Mediocre thrash songs and mediocre western songs placed next to one another.

[6.0] - Fine but somewhat unengaging.

[6.0]

[6.0]

[6.0] - Fairly middle-of-the-road, occasionally slightly metallic synthwave.

[6.0] - Has its striking moments, but ultimately passes by in a bit of a murky blur.

[6.0] - Some impressive guests, and some reasonably good alt-metal songs, but also a few mundane ones.

[6.0] - Bleak, miserable noisy dark ambient with distorted vocals.

[6.0] - Easy-listening, pleasantly catchy, but somewhat lightweight modern metal album - has elements of alt, djent and industrial/cyber metal.

[6.0] - Slightly boring grindcore bit more hardcore/metalcore beatdown-oriented.

[6.0] - Listenable, kinda dull though.

[5.5] - Something about their choruses always turns me off.

[5.5] - Some very promising and enjoyable parts to this prog-metalcore debut, but also some very raw elements to the songwriting that really drag it down.

[5.5] - I appreciate the artistry, but it is fundamentally unlikeable.

[5.5]

[5.5] - Whacking synths on top of this style always makes it a bit more compelling to me, but the songs just aren't that great.

[5.5] - Fluctuates between rock and metal, but remains consistent in boredom levels.

[5.5] - Pretty mid death/grind.

[5.5] - Meandering, esoteric Voidhanger wank, mix of dull dark ambient and irksome jazzy cacophonic outbursts.

[5.5]

[5.0] - Struggle to find much to like about this; empty, tedious, and dissonant in unlikeable ways when it gets heavier.

[5.0]

[5.0] - Like most Theophonos (and Serpent Column to be honest), it's rhythmically choppy and chaotic, but in a way that is pretty tedious to listen to.

[5.0] - Just guitar feedback drone and electronic ambience, lacking the moments of substance that made the previous album somewhat worthwhile.

[4.5] - Erratic mish-mash of harsh and ambient noise.