Recent reviews

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

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

Solilians

American Klezmische
I Heart Noise (2022)

The first time I listened to this EP I was waiting for it to properly start. I was already halfway through the second track before realising this was it. I was clearly not in the mood for this type of spacey music. Trying it again a couple of days later gave some better results. American Klezmische is the second installment of the In The Running Series. The first installment is the split of Solilians and Skyjelly. Solilians are a band that merge cosmic ambient, klezmer and folk. And depending on your source also space rock. That last denominator got me of on the wrong foot as I can hardly find any space rock on this EP (perhaps third track "Stratoshmear" could be classified as such). The sound of these genres combined does take some getting used to. A quick listen will not make this EP reveal its secret. In fact, at first listen this felt very disjointed. To my space rock expecting ears it sounded like two or three bands were in the same practice space and playing their tunes at the same time. Even now, after having heard this EP at least twenty times I find that if I … Read more

Plosivs

Plosivs
Swami (2022)

Plosivs are a new band with a lot of familiar faces. And, consequently, familiar voices too. Comprised of John Reis … Read more

Pan American

The Patience Fader
Kranky (2022)

Sonic maturity is not always reached by further augmenting one’s sound. It can also arrive when the artist understands what … Read more

Amorphis

Halo
Atomic Fire Records (2022)

Amorphis as a band have been going for over 30 years and this is the year that they bring us … Read more

Hakan

Hakan Manifesto
Striped Music (2022)

I was pretty into II, the last record by Hakan that I heard (apparently III slipped past me). And while … Read more

Black Map

Melodoria
Minus Head Records (2022)

Black Map came to be in a moment of synchronicity. Somehow at the exact time period, dredg, Far and The … Read more

Browse our review archives

Reviews by year

Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.

Reviews by artist name

Choose a letter to view reviews ordered by that letter (band name first).

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

748 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

4852 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Secrets Of The Moon

Sun
Lupus Lounge (2015)

There is a great deal of history that follows Secrets of the Moon. The German extreme metal band emerged from the ashes of the obscure, primal black metal outfit, Martyrium. A series of great albums would follow, with the band showcasing in an excellent manner their doom/black hybrid approach. However, through the years it seems as if a change was lurking at the core of the band. That did not mean a dismissal of the style that the band was following for most of its existence, but rather an expansion, a re-thinking of black metal in general. Their previous album, Seven Bells, was hailed as a black metal record stripped from the pretensions of the genre, a very accurate description. Therefore in a sense, Sun is a continuation of this … Read more

More album reviews

Salvation

Uncorrectable
Independent (2022)

Do you folks watch the show Queer Eye? Last season had an episode with a school. The kids that were graduating got to bury a time capsule. I have no clue when that capsule is supposed to be dug up. Listening to Salvations debut album Uncorrectable made me think of this episode a lot. The main reason being that Uncorrectable … Read more

Human Issue

Faceless. Nameless
Rad Girlfriend Records (2022)

Hunter Martinez is a scene vet, playing drums and/or guitar with Decent Criminal, Dwarves, and Slaughterboys, among others. In Human Issue, Martinez takes the lead. That’s not to say this is some dude-with-an-acoustic vanity project. Human Issue is a full-on punk band, with Martinez joined by a wide cast of collaborators on the 6-song EP: Rikk Agnew (Adolescents, Christian Death), … Read more

Mire

A New Found Rain
Independent (2021)

The first time I ran into Mire was about two years ago. I was looking for stuff that was at least somewhat adjacent to Gojira and a friend recommended Mire. At the time the band had an EP titled Shed which was released in 2018. For whatever reason, it seems that (mostly) all traces of it were scraped and there … Read more

Death Has Spoken

Call Of The Abyss
Ossuary Records (2021)

This is the second album from Polish death/doom metallers Death Has Spoken who formed in 2017. Taking inspiration musically from bands such as Paradise Lost, Swallow The Sun, Hallatar and My Dying Bride to name but a few this 7 track album gives us just over 40 minutes of dark, melodic doom metal. I've got to hand it to these … Read more

Sweat

Gotta Give It Up
Pirates Press (2022)

I’ve had a range of thoughts about this record as I’ve played it on repeat in recent weeks. At first it didn’t really hit me -- it felt too repetitive and didn’t really jump out from the pack. But that changed as I kept coming back. While circle pit hardcore is well established at this point, Sweat’s Gotta Give It … Read more

Alluvial

Sarcoma
Nuclear Blast (2021)

Last year was definitely a great year for metal. Probably the best year for metal in the past like ten or fifteen years. So great in fact, that I’m still trying to catch up with albums I didn’t get to either listen to or review. I actually had to make a spreadsheet for tracking purposes, imagine that, hahaha! Anyway, I … Read more

Various Artists

...And Out Come The Lawsuits
Lavasocks Records, Sell The Heart Records (2021)

Rancid’s 1990s catalog is a unique beast. It’s Clash-influenced street punk. On paper it sounds highly derivative, but its heart always shined through making it stand out in a hard to quantify way. Tim Armstrong’s songwriting is the foundation, but it’s his one-of-a-kind drawl paired with Lars Frederiksen’s vocal tradeoffs that makes it shine. It’s also why I was leery … Read more

Bulletproof

Dynamite
Ossuary Records (2021)

Bulletproof started out as a band in 2017, playing the underground bar scene in their native Argentina. After a while of playing bar shows Bulletproof started playing with a youth organisation called Speed Metal Army who organise metal shows for the masses over a whole range of metal styles across the country. Polish based Ossuary Records picked up the band … Read more

Antinode

The Canary That Named The Stars
Independent (2021)

I’m always up and ready for some good prog, especially when we’re looking at a concept piece. I’m tempted to say something along the lines of ‘they don’t make’em like they used to’, but we’re talking about music, not audiophile grade consumer electronics so that doesn’t ring true. It’s just that these days you have to dig further and deeper … Read more

//LESS

Useless EP
Independent (2022)

Returning readers might have noticed I like to be able to hear the bass guitar. It is an instrument that is too often a victim of a less than stellar production. French band //LESS are here to my aid. Their trick is simple and effective: instead of the more regular trio of drums, bass and guitar they opt to leave … Read more

Book Review

Jennifer Otter-Bickerdike

You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone
Allen & Unwin Publishing (2021)

1966 saw the first incarnation of Velvet Underground serenaded by the deep alto wails of Nico and resulting in more of a performative shock value prank than a musical act. From the get go it was clear that what Nico brought to the table fundamentally altered the DNA of Velvet Underground and added an idiosyncratic melange of melancholy, gloomy glamour … Read more

Persefone

metanoia
Napalm (2022)

I remember discovering Persefone, and their, then, newest album, Spiritual Migration. It was an insanely hot summer day in the shitty college dorms I was staying in. I was digging for progressive metal around on Metal Archives and YouTube. Out of nowhere this video for Spiritual Migration pops in the recommendations. It all seemed alluring so I went for it. … Read more

Forever Unclean

Best
Hidden Home Records (2022)

It’s a tough to summarize Forever Unclean in a neat little genre-name. It’s punk rock, but with elements of ‘90s alt rock, screamo and more. It’s short and concise, energetic and uplifting, yet unpredictable and far more complex than your average 3-chord beentheredonethat. The music is driving but varied: guitar-driven with sing-shouted vocals and lots of surprising-but-not-jarring shifts along the … Read more

Burial

Antidawn EP
Hyperdub (2022)

There is no question that Burial is one of the pivotal artists of the current era. The electronic musician from London has taken on a transformative journey through the landscape of post-dance music. Techno beats, garage sensibilities, early dubstep notions and far out ambient leanings are melted together through a unique kaleidoscopic vision. It is an evolution that has occurred … Read more

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

Advertisement

DCxPC 2025