1. She Said Destroy - Bleeding Fiction
Completely abandoning any semblance of their older black or thrash metal, She Said Destroy have managed to create a piece that would raise the eyebrows of even the most proficient post-metal acts. This is the most cathartic 27 minutes of music you'll hear this year.
2. Krokmitën - BVW565 Redux
Krokmitën's harrowing rendition of this solo organ piece attributed to Bach is nothing short of spectacular. The sheer amounts of explosiveness and bombast in this piece where tech death meets classical make it an unforgettable experience.
3. Chimp Spanner - All Roads Lead Here
Combining equal parts technicality and playfulness, Chimp Spanner's latest release doesn't offer much that's new, but refines his established sound to the point of perfection.
4. Pelican - Ataraxia/Taraxis
While it's not quite as moving as What We All Come to Need, Pelican's new EP nonetheless gives some promising fresh life into their sound and whets the appetite for a new full release.
5. TesseracT -- Perspective
Half old material and half new, TesseracT's debut with their new vocalist certainly impresses. They lose almost all of the metal and polyrhytmic messes in favour of softer, more acoustic-oriented pieces, and they pull it off quite well.
(Sarah)
