I haven't listened to that much pop punk, I've dabbled here and there but not too much, but this was an enjoyable EP. The energy is pretty solid throughout, the songwriting was decent albeit a bit samey and predictable, which isn't the worst thing in the world for this genre. Capsized was a bit boring in my opinion, it wasn't a super strong song to begin with so the lack of energy makes it the weakest track on the EP. It would have been an easy to choice to have that as the ... read more

This debut EP has a lot of promise and is generally pretty good albeit a bit flawed. I loved the guitarwork on this record, the solos were both really solid and is something that tends to get skipped over in a lot of revivalist metalcore and hardcore, so it was great to see here. I also really enjoyed the dynamics, the clean guitar sections were a very nice change of pace from what you generally hear from this type of music. I do think the tempo could have come up though, especially the second ... read more

This truly is a genre defining record. There's not a bad song on this record, it's catchy, it's energetic, is angry and aggressive, everything you'd expect from 90's grunge was defined here. The song writing here is just stellar, sure some songs are better than others, but every track here is at the very least good, and many are amazing. Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Lithium, and Drain You are all top tier tracks, four on one album is very impressive. The lyrics ... read more

A fantastic record from Coheed and Cambria. Having a record start with what is essentially two intro tracks is a bold move, but it really pays off here. And it's easy to see why Welcome Home is as popular as it is despite its six minute runtime. That song is pretty much the embodiment of the epic descriptor. Just such a good track. The momentum from then on carries very well despite the very early peak, there's not a bad song on the record. The writing's what we've come to ... read more

One of the first bands to come out of the Thall craze in the early 2020s. I'd never taken the time to really listen to them until know, though I'd heard some things here and there. While this is pretty good, it does have some flaws. It's not quite as creative as I'd hope for a band in this genre, I was expecting a lot more experimentation with guitar noises, and while there was a little bit of that near the end, there wasn't nearly as much as I'd hope. The ... read more

This is a pretty solid debut all things considered. The first half was definitely more enjoyable than the second half, though the whole thing was still pretty good. The tones of everything as well as the mix was pretty solid, it generally sounded pretty good. I think there's a slight overuse of samples, particularly in the last track, but it's not a huge issue. It does make me less likely to listen to at least RUN FOR YOUR LIFE on its own though. But this is still some solid stuff.

The absolute weakest aspect of this record is the metal elements. If they would abandon the low tuned guitars and breakdowns the record would improve so much. Not enough to make it an album I'd go back to, but it would pull it out of the bad range. The vocals are really the only thing I can give praise to, the singer's voice really is quite good. Past that though, this is a pretty bland and boring synthwave record with alt metal thrown in there just to be different. It doesn't ... read more

It's very interesting hearing Deafheaven almost entirely step away from the blackgaze sound that they're known for and dip entirely into shoegaze. It's not exactly what I really want from this band, but this wasn't bad either. It's very chill throughout most of the listen, with great ambience and great melodies. The moments where the music does briefly step back into blackgaze really hit hard and make for some awesome sections. It's no question my least favorite ... read more

I've made jokes about album covers looking nothing like how their music sounds, but this might take the cake in that department. For such a gory cover, this is a very calm, low energy record that just kind of mellows on through the duration. It's not super interesting a lot of the time, and is a bit boring at times as well. The vocals don't really fit the instrumentals for the most part, the guy's voice is pretty dense, I feel like a lighter voice would have fit better. A ... read more

Second verse, same as the first, but a little bit louder and a little bit worse. There doesn't seem to be much progression compositionally between MORTAL REMINDER's debut and this new record, pretty much every issue/critique I had with that record remains here with new, added issues. The first of those issues are the interludes, mainly BEYOND A LOCKED DOOR. I went into that track seeing the runtime was over six minutes long and had high expectations, for a song of that length surely ... read more

This is a very solid post progressive metal record. The soundscapes are nice and full, the dynamics are wide with both ends of the spectrum getting equal attention. The production is great, it gives the whole record an almost ethereal sounding quality, and the tones of the instruments are perfectly suited for it. The performances from everyone are great, I loved the guitar and drum parts on this record. Very solid stuff.

A very solid EP from The Dear Hunter, and one of the last releases I've listened to before reviewing their entire discography. The Dear Hunter definitely excels in conceptual storytelling in music, so releases like this where that isn't an aspect of the record don't quite hit as hard as those that do. It's still very much compositionally consistent with their sound however, and I did quite enjoy this. Shake Me (Awake) was my favorite track, it's nice and energetic and ... read more

It’s no surprise that I love progressive metal and djent, so it’s no surprise that I really enjoyed this album. TesseracT does ambient djent better than anyone else, and it really shines on this record. The lack of harsh vocals makes this a decently accessible while still maintaining that unstable grounding with the odd rhythms making this a great introduction to the genre without compromising on the important aspects of it. The riff writing is creative, my personal favorite was the ... read more

This is another album that gets a lot of love and is considered by many to be one of the greatest albums of all time, but I think it's a tad bit over rated. I see the appeal, but I don't think it's quite THAT good. My main issue with this is the vocals, the melodies just feel awkward and offkey on occasion as well. Everything else is solid, instrumentally and compositionally this is some great stuff, especially for its time, but those vocals do make it a bit hard for me to ... read more

While this is a solid djent album, it’s a lot of style with not a lot of substance. Most of the riffs are just open strings with djenty rhythms, which is fine on its own, but when it’s as high of a percentage of riffs on the album as it is, the songs start to feel a bit samey. The performances a pretty good, there’s definitely some creative drum parts here and the vocals are also solid, though I do find it funny how much they shoehorn in the name of the band into the lyrics. ... read more

While I don’t think this is one of the greatest albums ever written like some, this was a fantastic ride from start to finish. I really loved how everything sounded sonically, the mix, guitar tones, drums, and vocals all sounded great. The riffs were all quite creative, with odd time showing up every now and again. Ending the album with an instrumental is a bit of an odd choice, but it works well enough. Hearts Alive is the track that really feels like the closer though, with Joseph ... read more

A very solid EP and an interesting precursor to The Dark Pool. You can definitely hear the beginnings of what would become that album here, not quite yet embracing the shoegazey sound they're now known for and instead being a more full djent EP. The riffs are great, the song structure isn't too samey, I'd say the biggest thing this EP could've done better is the vocals and lyrics, there's little bits here and there that aren't great or feel a bit awkward, but ... read more

By far and away the best of these EPs. Every song is solid, there’s no one moment that I can point to and have a complaint about. The Challenge does a great job at showing the tensions at Ithaca, Hold Them Down not only is a great track composition wise but also makes you hate the villain in the most extreme way, a task it set out to do and executed perfectly. Odysseus is a great track as well, the final hoorah that you can’t but say “yeah! Get em!” while listening to. ... read more

Once again I think my least favorite track was the first one. It’s not really bad per se, but I don’t think it really needed to be here. Nothing would really be lost if it was cut, Odysseus being released from Calypso’s island could have been covered in the beginning of Dangerous and it would have worked fine. From Dangerous on I enjoyed this, and we even got more odd time with some 5/4 action which is always a fun time. Nearing the end now, let’s see how this ends.

There seems to be a theme of the first song being my least favorite, and that continues here. The whole “l-l-l-legendary” bit was just bad, the only part of this entire project I can point to and say is just straight up bad. Moving on from that, I’m happy with the return of Athena, as she’s my favorite singer on this project. Lyrical writing from that point onwards is solid, a little witty and cheesy, but again, that is to be expected in this type of music. The hooks are ... read more