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Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

Aosoth

IV: An Arrow In Heart
Agonia (2013)

Aosoth is another example of how great the current black metal scene in France actually is. With their latest full length, they definitely claim their place next to great bands like Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord. Formed by members of black metal titans Antaeus you get an idea of the quality of the music here.The cold, eerie atmosphere kicks in straight away from the opening track of the album “An Arrow In Heart,” with its mid pace tempo approach but with the drums blasting away on the background it instantly captures your attention, by the way the tribal drums about six minutes in the track manage to build an almost ritualistic atmosphere making the sound even more haunting. But if what you prefer in you black metal is chaos, Aosoth once again does not disappoint. Soon enough “One With The Prince With A Thousand Enemies” frenzied guitar riffs will try to take your head off, something that almost becomes a reality when the black metal riffological typhoon of “Under Nails and Fingertips” and especially “Temple of Knowledge,” just listen to the start of the song to grasp the aggression that Aosoth is able to conjure here.Short break with the … Read more

Aeon Zen

Enigma
Nightmare (2013)

Aeon Zen is one of the more recent progressive bands to work its way up to massive critical acclaim. Grounded … Read more

Worthwhile Way

Love Is All
ADD Records (2013)

Worthwhile Way play positive punk. No bones about it, the title Love Is All isn’t some ironic statement, the band … Read more

Riverside

Shrine of New Generation Slaves
Inside Out (2013)

Riverside is one of those surprise acts, emerging out of Poland to somehow join the ranks of Dream Theater and … Read more

Lair of the Minotaur

Godslayer EP
The Grind House (2013)

Lair of the Minotaur is a band that managed to get their sound right and have stick with it since … Read more

Cult of Luna

Vertikal
Density (2013)

These heavy bands are increasingly showing off their cultural literacy while still bludgeoning their listeners with a heady mix of … Read more

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One from the archives

Kaada

Closing Statements
Mirakel (2018)

Whimsical/ˈhwɪm·zɪ·kəl, ˈwɪm-/adjectiveUnusual and alluring. Using imagination in a playful manner.This is admittedly, not a word that would typically be used to describe an album written around final moments before death, but somehow, in the hands of John Erik Kaada, it becomes more apropos with each listen. Closing Statements is about those final words, breaths and thoughts but remarkably eschews the melancholy and sorrow for the languid and serene.There’s a synergy at work here as with the music from all great composers, with a melding of dreamy electronica, lush orchestral strings, and a wordless chorus of voices that together become much, much more than the sum of their parts.As with most of Kaada’s work, it’s the vivid pictures that his music creates that makes it an album to listen to. To … Read more

More album reviews

Cult of Luna

Vertikal
Density (2013)

Isis were the undisputed kings of post-metal, reaching levels of perfection with their music literally unheard of before. But even though they've been retired from the scene for a while, it's unclear whether or not there will emerge another band up to their calibre. If I can throw in my oar, I'd nominate Swedish metalheads Cult of Luna for the … Read more

HIM

Tears On Tape
Razor & Tie (2013)

HIM have been kicking about on the rock ‘n’ roll scene for as long as most of their fans have been alive, a terrifying thought in itself, and anything we needed to say about their love metal outlook or their relevance to the world of music in the 21st Century was said when we took a look at XX: Two … Read more

They Might Be Giants

Nanobots
Idlewild Recordings (2013)

When I first heard these guys in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, there wasn’t really a name for this. Now, I guess it would be called indie pop. The band, led by songwriters John Linnell and John Flansburgh, has long been on the quirky side with a touch of novelty, but it’s their strong sense of melody and that … Read more

D.O.A.

We Come In Peace
Sudden Death (2012)

in·sti·tu·tion noun \?in(t)-st?-?tü-sh?n, something or someone firmly associated with a place or thingThere are few bands around that can be considered any kind of institution for their respective region. D.O.A. However, is such a band. A band synonymous with growing up in Canada. More specifically, growing up in Vancouver.Year after passing year, frontman Joe Keithley could be counted on to … Read more

The Strokes

Comedown Machine
RCA (2013)

The Strokes have paved way since brushing the scene in 2001 with their instant garage pop classic, Is This It. What was an unlikely return a decade later, releasing Angles after a near five-year hiatus, the band evolved electronically. Undoubtedly influenced by frontman Julian Casablancas - following his solo synthpop debut, Phrazes for the Young, during the break - this … Read more

Altar Of Plagues

Teethed Glory and Injury
Profound Lore (2013)

Often an album comes along that defies all genre constraints and challenges your own perception on life and reality. Sometimes that album makes you delve deep within the self and question your own outlooks. Teethed Glory and Injury is that album. And oh, how it ravages your being.With Teethed Glory and Injury Altar of Plagues have created a work of … Read more

The Scutches

Ten Songs, Ten Years
Bright & Barrow (2012)

The Ramones were, and still are, such an influence on music. These days, they’re garnered as a genre all on their own, known simply as, “Ramones-core.” Right now, bands like Teenage Bottlerocket are running things, but perhaps you haven’t given The Scutches a chance? The Scutches have been churning out Pop-Punk ditties for ten years now. Their latest album‘s title, … Read more

The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation

Egor
Denovali (2012)

As the sister group of The Kilimanjaro Doomjazz Ensemble This group treads similar waters. While not a new group by any stretch this, their most recent full length of new work continues their original routing. The question many people would have is "what exactly is doomjazz?". The easy answer would correlate to the genre name itself. While it contains pieces … Read more

Iggy & The Stooges

Ready To Die
Fat Possum Records (2013)

The death of Ron Asheton in 2009 was a sad day in music. Considered by this critic and many others to be one of the best guitarists of all time, with his work on the first 2 Stooges album becoming the stuff of legend over the years. Having rejoined with Iggy and the Stooges a few years prior and appearing … Read more

Zozobra

Savage Masters
Brutal Panda (2013)

Zozobra returns five years after their excellent previous full length Birds of Prey; and now, Caleb Scofield (of Cave In and Old Man Gloom) brings forth Savage Masters. If you are not familiar with Zozobra, try to imagine Old Man Gloom covering Cave In tracks: in essence you get straightforward songs, with quite catchy riffs and nice groove which on … Read more

Various Artists

Closure / Moloch - Split EP
King Of Monsters (2012)

closure and moloch sit on diametrically opposed sides of the same scene in the same country. They share in the metal/hardcore scene within the UK and they manage to bring their differing outlooks to this split. This makes for a different type of split. While most bands would be happy to just play something similar to the band on the … Read more

Aidan Baker

Closure Axioms
The Miskatonic Sound Lab (2012)

For as prolific as Aidan Baker is (besides his most known musical endeavor Nadja, he is involved in a slew of other projects as well such as Arc and Infinite Light), his solo material seems criminally overlooked by some (which includes my own self in this group); though maybe this is not a case of overlooking so much as potential … Read more

The Tossers

The Emerald City
Victory (2013)

The Tossers top out my list of Celtic punk bands. Dropkick Murphys turned into cartoons long ago and I’ve just never been that big a fan of Dave King’s (Flogging Molly) voice. The Tossers, who call Chicago home, bring a mix of emphatic punk energy a la Flogging Molly, but blend it with a traditionalist sense found in, who else,The … Read more

Soror Dolorosa

No More Heroes
Northern Silence/Beneath Grey Skies (2013)

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, and France’s Soror Dolorosa, in choosing to name their sophomore record after a Stranglers album (due to a badge depicting the album appearing on a jacket used for the cover art) manage to wear their hearts on their leather sleeves and show exactly what they’re about in one fell swoop. … Read more

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)