Best of 2026

Recently Rated

Wage War - Pressure
Wage War
Pressure
2019 • LP
67
Jun 1
Darko - Oni 2
Darko
Oni 2
2026 • LP
55
May 28
Periphery - A Pale White Dot
Periphery
A Pale White Dot
2026 • LP
85
May 27
Sevendust - ONE
Sevendust
ONE
2026 • LP
70
May 23
Port Noir - The Dark We Keep
Port Noir
The Dark We Keep
2026 • LP
68
May 21
The Narrator - Phosphor
The Narrator
Phosphor
2026 • LP
60
May 20
Atavistia - Old Gods Awaken
Atavistia
Old Gods Awaken
2026 • LP
78
May 20
MIRAR - Gradus ad Parnassum
MIRAR
Gradus ad Parnassum
2026 • EP
65
May 19

Recent Reviews

Wage War - Pressure
67

The music itself is pleasant enough, but all the song structures are practically the exact same and nothing stands out. Takes all the fun out of it when I can predict exactly what's coming next. Harsh vocals are great, but the clean vocal melodies aren't strong or memorable enough for me. Riffs are pretty nice, even if they're all pretty much recycled from other bands within the scene. Would be fine as background music but I'm not going to remember it tomorrow and have no ... read more

Periphery - A Pale White Dot
85

The fact that Periphery have managed to produce something pretty different from their norm without compromising their signature sound is very impressive. A lot less progressive than I was expecting, but still plenty of hard-hitting chuggy grooves and lovely vocal melodies. I feel like Spencer is at the top of his game here. Nothing on here is absolutely perfect by any means, but there aren't really any skippable tracks for me, which is more than I can say for the most recent Periphery ... read more

Darko - Oni 2
55

Production is pretty bad and musically it's so disjointed, but I guess that's part of the fun with Darko. There are moments I enjoy, but as a full package, it just doesn't land for me and I'm not sure it ever will. Can't fault the experimentation and they're undoubtedly very talented, but I can't get on board.

Sevendust - ONE
70

It's all pretty solid, inoffensive heavy rock. Lajon still sounds good. It's not gonna blow anyone's socks off, but if you're craving that kinda early/mid-2000's nu-metal/rock sound or you're a long time Sevendust fan, you'll get what you want with this.

Dimmu Borgir - Grand Serpent Rising
62

Can't say I know this band's entire discography, but I LOVED Death Cult Armageddon, so thought this would be worth checking out, even with it being 23 years since that release. The mix on this is considerably worse somehow. Drums are almost completely drowned out at points. Musically, it's pretty much along the same lines as DCA, but a lot less enthralling. Doesn't feel as exciting from a songwriting POV. It gets better as it goes on, but don't see myself ever going ... read more


April Playlist