Maybe I'm just boring, but I find this type of silly happy-clappy Euro reddit chungus music pretty juvenile and irritating. It's music for people who tear the crusts off of their Nutella sandwiches and think wearing a banana costume to a gig is the height of comedy. I was desperately waiting for this to be over from the first song, and it felt like a waste of my time. I'm seeing Electric Callboy live at Download this weekend so maybe it'll be more enjoyable live, but I ... read more

Just awful. This is one of the worst albums I've ever heard, and listening to it actually pissed me off a bit.

It's obvious what Windwaker were trying to do here, but they completely failed. As with many modern bands, they tried to blend metalcore and hyperpop in the vein of POST HUMAN: NeX GEn, but ended up producing 45 minutes of the most generic cack you'll ever subject your ears to, devoid of any semblance of imagination or self awareness. Also, is the hyperpop in the ... read more

It's safe to say my expectations have been well surpassed by this. After mixed reception to their previous two albums, and partnering with contentious producer Jordan Fish, this easily could've been a bit of a flop, but it's actually pretty damn good in fairness. Going in I was worried this would be laced with the egregious Fishisms which many are beginning to grow tired of (especially following Poppy's Empty Hands earlier this year), but he has shown commendable restraint ... read more

My journey of checking out ERRA's full discography continues, and this band is still impressing me. I thought this was the point where I would start to hear distinct weaknesses, however this was their fourth album on the spin where I added every single song to my playlists after the first playthrough. These guys have simply never written a bad song (as of yet). Of course the mix and some elements of the instrumentation are less impressive than their most recent projects, but that's to ... read more

In the best way possible, this sounds like the result of getting all of the genre’s heavyweights into a booth together and giving them as much time as they need to produce the platonic ideal of modern atmospheric synthcore. It has the Carter-esque vocal runs, epic choruses, great breakdowns, and tasteful electronic additions which you can’t help but enjoy. Yes it’s generic, and it gets a little samey towards the end, but I believe there’s room in the scene for generic if ... read more

This is really good stuff. It's rife with great melodies, incredibly satisfying grooves, and a well-struck balance between moments of pure beauty in ...hospice (which is one of the songs of the year for me) and moments of Loathe-esque chaotic filth in Male-bomb and Classic.Death.Pose, flanked either side by familiar post-hardcore offerings in Adult Diamond and human props to anchor you amongst the bedlam. While I enjoyed Rouge Carpet Disaster, I felt that it lacked a little humanity so I ... read more

I had low expectations going into this as I believe it's widely considered to be Deftones' weakest album, but I actually preferred it to a few of their other albums. While it still has a few uninteresting tracks in the mould of Diamond Eyes/Ohms, it has far more variety and considered songwriting, and was a much more coherent album experience. I still wouldn't exactly describe it as good seeing as I know what Deftones are capable of (Koi No Yokan and private music in particular), ... read more

I'm a little baffled by the incredibly positive reception to this. It's almost a complete miss, and a far inferior project to Killjoy. I'm not sure what the production time was, but it sounds like the result of a "make an album in 30 days" style challenge. The songs are pretty basic and half-baked with amateurish lyrics, awkward vocal melodies, disharmony between the experimental and drum and bass elements, and no bangers to look forward to were you to relisten as a ... read more

Metal To Fall Asleep To • Instant Melatonin Release (feels like 10 hours)

This album commits the cardinal musical sin - it's boring. I would at least like to be able to give the lyricism and guitar work some credit, but I'm unable to make a value judgement seeing as I could barely hear them throughout the whole album. The mix is incredibly muddy, making it hard to discern any lyrics and taking all of the punch out of the guitars. Basically all you can hear is the bass and ... read more

This was my first introduction to Periphery, and I feel like a miner who has struck a rich vein. I really enjoyed it - it's varied, experimental, and much lighter than expected, which was welcome. I was hesitant to check out Periphery as they're known for their long and atmospheric djent which I'm not sure is really my thing, but this was much more stripped back and straight forward, which probably explains why I enjoyed it more than I anticipated. It has a few potential skips, ... read more

Going into this I was a little apprehensive about the old vocalist, having become so accustomed to Dale's vocals and being unsure about how scream vocals would fit within the Ocean Grove soundscape, however it turns out I had nothing to be worried about at all. This album shows that the Oddworld Collective have had a true vision for their sound for a long time, and they will achieve that vision regardless of who is holding the mic or on the guitar. Of course it is more raw-sounding than ... read more

This is an album of two halves. It starts really strong, with four back-to-back bangers from XS to Akasaka Sad, but from there it gets less and less interesting with each subsequent song. The energy is brought back a little with Snakeskin, but it's too little too late and by that point I had already made my mind up on the album.

I really feel that Rina is at her best with her more upbeat and alternative offerings, as opposed to the slew of slower, ballady songs which I find far less ... read more

I've listened to a new album every day this year, and this is the first one I really had to fight to not switch off half way through. It's the epitome of everything wrong with modern R&B-laced TikTok cum metal. It's Sleep Token without the emotional weight and musical prowess. It's Bad Omens without the esteemed vocals and dark undertones. It's Thornhill without the groove and cool edge.

The instrumentation is at least tasteful and interesting (even though the ... read more

This has in abundance what a lot of other EDM albums lack - variety. You can actually enjoy the whole thing as an album experience, rather than it just seeming like a bunch of disconnected singles which all follow the same pattern. It's a delightful mix of trap, electro house, future bass, hardstyle, and electropop with great sound design and effective features, and I imagine it's even better live. There are a couple of skips, namely XTC and Is This The End, but on a 14 track album ... read more

This album has a few nice songs, but I think I'm just over the whole two-track, sadgirl bedroom indie pop thing. The majority of the album follows a standard pattern - subdued vocals singing about how sad they are that they haven't been in a relationship for two weeks over acoustic strumming with the squeaks and scrapes left in, followed by a voice note bridge/outro. It's been done better elsewhere, and I need a little more. Also I want to listen to sad music written by people ... read more

I finally got around to checking this out after thoroughly enjoying SICK TO DEATH OF EVERYTHING, and this confirms Tropic Gold are one of the most underrated bands in the scene at the moment. They've got the filth and pop sensibilities of Bring Me The Horizon, but also the dark, sexy, laid-back vibes of Thornhill/Bad Omens. I was not initially convinced by the first few minutes of ADRENALINE, but when the final 30 seconds hit I knew I was in for something good. It's a little ... read more

This band is quickly becoming a strong favourite of mine. I've been checking out their discography in reverse order, and the consistency in quality between albums is seriously impressive. Although on first listen many of the tracks blended together, and there wasn't too much to distinguish between them compared to their later albums, it was still a riot and what it lacks in triumphancy compared to CURE and silence outlives the earth it more than makes up for in pure assbeaters. ... read more

There was quite a lot I did not enjoy about this, but I'll start with the positives. This band obviously knows how to create vast, cinematic soundscapes, and this is most evident in the title track which is probably the track I enjoyed the most (and the only song which made it into my playlists). They also have a good understanding of spacing, and are not afraid to let you sit in an uninterrupted groove, which is something other bands could learn from. The implementation of strings, ... read more

Man I'm a little disappointed with this one. The songwriting is still pretty good, but it's completely missing the punch of Flip Phone Fantasy and ODDWORLD. Where's the angst? Where are the riffs? Why are the guitars so low in the mix? I was wondering why they didn't play a single song from this album in the two times I've seen them live, and now I know why. There's no bangers, every song feels like the filler tracks from their other albums - fairy solid, but you ... read more

I enjoyed this. Great vocals and guitar tones, and even in it's less impressive moments (namely Shadowalker and Metamorphosis) the high level production and mix keeps it a pleasant enough listen. It starts pretty strong but the Crucify to Skin Deep to I.F.O.Y.G run elevates it to another level.

Favourite Tracks: Crucify, Skin Deep, I.F.O.Y.G