So remember how Piece of Time didn't really have that strong of a progressive presence? An "Unquestionable Presence" on this album without a doubt is the prog influence which is so incredibly diligently interwoven with the prior aggression that it leaves you wondering where the hell it even came from. If I was to describe this album's sound, it'd probably be more in line with "Jazzy Prog Death", and perhaps of all albums in this vein, the most definitively so. ... read more

The first three Atheist albums show an interesting musical evolution that I think is shared to some extent by a few of the other bands in the Florida Death Metal scene, namely they get progressively (heh) more jazzy as they continue.

Of the bunch, Piece of Time is by far the most accessible, boasting a sound that I would describe as "Thrashy Tech Death". It hits hard, with ferocious bass playing that silences any proponents of "bass doesn't matter in metal", and ... read more

This is quite possibly the most gothy sounding melodic death metal album out there, or at least in contention for that title. As per usual, Dan the Man comes through with fun songs that defy the expectations and conventions of the genre in pursuit of turning that creative spark into a blazing inferno. While he succeeds in doing that here as well, this isn't quite at the zenith of where Crimson would be, but then again, few things are.

If I were to give an objective rating, this is a 95: The best of 80s King Crimson.
However, this album got me into prog as a concept that can be mixed with other genres in a way that results in beautiful music; I suppose in a way, it was like seeing the entirety of something and falling in love with it all over again.

This is not a perfect album, but at the time when I first put it on and listened through it, nothing would have been quite as perfect as the sound of nihilism being given, in a wholly ironic twist, purpose and voice. I will always cherish what None did here.

A sprawling ride that promises you an enjoyable journey from the get go while still giving you a surprises along the way. As a listener, you're never left knowing what direction you'll be taken in, but if you're patient, Garm and co. will make it worth your while track after track, even as they themselves are exploring new territory themselves with this album.

The fact that both People of the Hills and Welcome to the Jungle are on this album and yet don't feel out of ... read more

It's a fun meloblack/atmospheric black metal album with a dash of dungeon synth. It's not doing something I've never ever heard before, but it's doing things very well, especially for a first album. Looking forward to seeing what they will be doing down the line-

The thing that immediately stood out to me was how processed the guitars sounded from the first power chords. I can understand the decision, in how it lets the bass sing more in the mix by getting rid of some of the low end from the guitars, but it's a sound that very much has to grow on you. That being said, when it does grow on you, contrary to the album's cover, this album is a lot more fun than it lets on. The little scale and arpeggio runs here and there work well to embellish ... read more

As intricate as the instrumentation here is, I don't think as a whole the album works as well as it is reaching for. There are two areas that it leaves me disappointed, the first being the mixing on the vocals, which I will go deeper into later, and the second is the underlying feeling that The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Parts I to III should have been released as their own independent work as an EP, or further explored to reach the 30 to 40 minute mark for an LP. As it stands, The first ... read more

Agriculture's most idiosyncratic, and in my opinion, strongest album to date. The Spiritual Sound for me is the strongest when it's exploring heavy and harsh soundscapes and juxtaposing them with contrasting sonic textures. Serenity, The Spiritual Sound, and Dan's Love Song as a result end up as a bit of a noticeable valley (albeit still evidently artistic and exhuding competence) amongst the very strong tracks surrounding it. Whether you love it or hate it this is not a soon to ... read more

Stones from the Sky is a monumental track. The rest of the album is great too, not as consistently on the money as something like Through Blood In Silver, but the closing track here is monolithic and boasts production techniques and editing that is mind blowing for today, let alone 2001. What a cathartic experience.

Initial Impressions:

In the vein of Hallucinogen, but markedly improved on every front. The peaks are just about as high and the low points are significantly fewer and higher. A very strong album in a year of very strong albums.

Pirate the album.

For what it's worth, from what I hear there is no pro-nazi stuff here (no, the person on the cover is not a KKK member)

For its time especially, this album stands as one of the most forward thinking and adventurous compositional undertakings that I have heard. While the fusion of Jazz Fusion and Death Metal is not particularly revolutionary nowadays, with bands like Imperial Triumphant just recently having led the charge in a titanic way this very year, Cynic was one of the first bands to do it as brazenly and shamelessly as they did here with Focus.

That being said, this album does have blemishes that while ... read more

A flawed album is not necessarily any less influential than an excellent one. In certain cases even, it may be even more influential to the right person. For me, no album better represents that idea than Orchid. As the first offering from the prog metal titans Opeth, they were still finding their footing with their sound, one which here and on their following album, Morningrise, borrowed much more elements from black metal than the iconic death metal sound that flavours Opeth's most ... read more

Picture this if you will: Just after having finished an all-nighter coding away, I decide to throw on one final album before I go to bed, just to get a taste of what I'll be listening to tomorrow and whether it's decent. From the get-go I am stopped in my tracks, I don't make it past the second track before I loop back straight to the beginning; just to experience everything I have heard thus far again and to process what the fuck I just experienced. It's past 4am now, and I ... read more

An overall very strong offering across the board with some incredibly strong and poignant songs (albeit with a few tracks that fall a bit short). In case anybody did not know, 1914 is a band from Ukraine. The current large scale war of attrition the country is locked in with the Russian invaders echoes the same stagnating and marginally shifting battlefield lines that claimed the lives of countless soldiers of WW1. The victims of the same imperialistic delusions of cowards all to happy to throw ... read more

This is bordering on self parody at this point. I think Dave's lyrics were seriously based on the ironically edgy skeleton memes (edgy biker skeleton image with text like "Born 2 Shit; Forced 2 Wipe"). On the topic of wiping, I wish I could wipe this track from my memory.

Back in like middle school, we used to be edgy because we thought those kinds of jokes were funny.
Then as I got older, I realised about half the people who were laughing at those things weren't joking.
I'm pretty sure Tom MacDonald peaked in middle school and decided that he'd make that his whole brand.

An experimental, surprising, and inviting trip, blending soft gothic singing with booming, shouted vocals; melodic metal passages with volatile, psychadelics that pull the listener through a myriad of soundscapes seamlessly without ever growing too comfortable. Before you realise it, the album is already almost over. I would credit to the excellent interludes which make it feel like this whole album is one concentrated idea playing out.

While I would personally say that the album does begin ... read more