Bands need to stop using iconic song names from their predecessors if they're not covering. If its a generic name, then fine, but using 'Snowblind' for a Kendrick Fireman ahh single like this is just straight up clickbait.

'As the Palaces Burn' is a more than apt title for Lamb of God's sophomore release, not only in the lyrical-thematic sense, but also because this album's production and sonority make the listener feel like they're being baked in a sweltering furnace. It's basically a more crude and prototypical version of the soundscape heard on Heriot's 2024 album, but which nevertheless pairs up perfectly with ATPBs musical content. This is something that will remain ... read more

1994, Richmond, VA; a group of VCU misfits join forces in order to form a Groovy, grindy Deathcore-y Metal band that would come to be known as Burn the Priest (whose discography won't be covered here for brevity's sake). After entering the city's DIY underground scene and releasing their self-titled debut in 1999, BTP would undergo a full scale transformation following the addition of guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, changing their name to Lamb of God and pivoting their ... read more

I was supposed to review LoG's discography during the lead-up to this drop, as is customary, but I'm a dumbass and forgot all about it. The order is gonna be a bit messed up, but what can you do.

Richmond's very own Lamb of God have built themselves a reputation as one of the best, most influential, and crucially, most consistent bands of the modern era. Their 10th album, Into Oblivion, imprints itself on the backdrop of a storied career, which will be better explored in the ... read more

I was actually kinda liking it for the first few tracks, but then you get 5,6,7 songs in, and it all starts to blend together, as is par for the course for this genre. Vocals are still a big issue as well.

I enjoy the attempt at more virtuosistic Djenting on tracks such as 'gore of being', and the Meshuggah passages on a few of the songs, but overall, this falls into all the same pitfalls as every Djentcore album that comes out these days.

That was quick...

ty for 600 followers

Rage Against the Machine is one of the most popular and respected Metal acts of all time... but are they really even a Metal act? It's quite a pervasive discussion inside many music circles, based around the fact that their sound and influences clearly derive from Funk, Rock n' Roll, and Punk music more so than Metal, especially when you consider that Metal wasn't nearly as sonically comprehensive back in the early 90's. On the other ... read more

Peak 🥹

I just realized I've added all of my crush's solo releases to AOTY but never actually reviewed any of them, so here goes. I'll be back to consistent reviews soon enough.

Anyways, this is guitarist extraordinaire Jéssica Di Falchi's first solo project after leaving Crypta in mid-2025, and it's probably my favorite Metal release so far in 2026 (amidst an admittedly lean sample size).

Solace is a short compilation of some mathy instrumental Prog tunes, a very in ... read more

Can't say I was expecting this, but considering that the farwell tour has been going on for some 4 years atp, which I've attended on three separate occasions, might as well drop a project on their way out.

Pretty good single. Derrick has some nice cleans, but his voice does sound kinda scuffed on the back end of the track. Still pretty great tho, Andreas keeps a similar songwriting style to that of Quadra and he delivers well once again. Greyson sounding good behind the kit as well.

Seems like At The Gates have one more album left in them... As someone who really enjoys their post-reunion work, this is right up my alley. Hope they can pull this off, for Tomas' sake

J Cole, Jermaine, J Fold, the inspiration behind the J Cole Meal, The Humble King, The Grippy Rapper, no matter how you know him, Its undeniable that this guy is one of the most famous and iconic rappers of the modern era. But is his music actually good tho? Not really, and his supposed 'magnum opus' is another demonstration of this fact.

The Fall Off has been teased for the past 8 years, accruing a ton of hype inside Hip Hop fandom as a whole. Unfortunately, unless J Cole completely ... read more

Brazillian Death Doom up-and-comers Fossilization have dropped their debut LP, and its pretty much what you'd expect from the band.

Honestly, my favorite thing about these guys is their aesthetic, their imagery and lyricism focused around the rotten and decomposing decrepitdness that goes on in the hidden corners of our world is quite cool to think about, and marries perfectly with the band's grimey and uncomfortable brand of Death Doom.

@ValentinesDay mentioned to me that I ... read more

ty @Zolozo for the rec

This album seems to be quite the sensation within the Metal community right now, and the proposition does in fact seem quite interesting... a mix of old school Symphonic Black Metal and Death Doom, imagine the endless possibilities that could be extracted from that!

Well, unfortunately, Worm doesn't do much imagining here. The tones of both the guitars, keys, and even those spacey acoustic background melodies sound like they were just directly sampled from a Dimmu ... read more

Very nice, the songwriting resembles more conservative Metalcore, without losing the technical and avant-garde elements that define Converge's sound. They are merely used in a more level-headed and intelligent manner. I do think this one could also have been a bit shorter tho

Yeah man

I noticed that Isaac uses the same unorthodox bend lick that he uses on Dying to Forget off Poppy's new album. This guy has an infinite bag atp.

Feels like a bit less dynamic and well-written version of Jane Doe, especially with the extended runtime. I get why this is the least highly regarded tape from this era.

Compared to its predecessor, Jane Doe, You Fail Me feels both more adventurous and less chaotic. While JD still managed to maintain undertones of light-hearted abrasiveness typical of classic Metalore and Hardcore, this LP is dark and dystopic practically from beginning to end. The title track itself is perhaps the most adequate encapsulation of the record's themes, being a 5-minute piece comprised of hellish guitar droning and layered shrieks that showcases a soundscape completely alien ... read more

Same idea as its predecessor, pretty much. More polished in terms of mixing and aesthetic cohesion, but the obsession with entropy, something typical of prototypical 90s Mathcore, put a clear cap on Converge's evolution, at least for my personal tastes.

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Since the review ended up being a bit brief, I'll clarify that I was on a trip that kept me from properly listening to music. Fortunately, 1 album per day will keep us on track to coincide with Love is Not Enough's release ... read more

Not sure about this one tbh. Feels like it doesn't have enough processing. The vocals especially sound a bit too natural for my taste.

Petitioning the Empty Sky is, surprisingly enough, a more straightforward Metalcore record than its predecessor. However, the higher level of songwriting and production quality more than makes up for its comparative lack of exeprimentation.

The base of the Converge sound is still there: Metalcore with incorporation of novel melodic, technical, and atmospheric elements. On highlights such as the opener 'The Saddest Day', you really get to hear this uniue style starting to establish ... read more