I really fucked with Converge and kind of want to get to know each of their albums a little more. This may take a while, though.

This one I'm spending a little less time on, though, because it's by far their least interesting one. This album has a lot of merit and shows a lot of talent from the band, but it tends to drag in its more atmospheric moments. There are a lot of cool riffs, especially in the first half, and I don't mind the production being kind of shitty. The vocals, ... read more

I meant to log this a few days ago before I saw them live (they're good live) but here we are.

I actually think this is their most fun and digestible work yet, but it's simultaneously their weakest since Lochie joined. I love it when it's on, and I haven't gotten sick of it since its release, but I find the majority of the tracklist more forgettable than most on AQPTD. A lot of the songs are kind of just starting to sound the same, I guess.

I also think some songs here are ... read more

Disappointed to not have enjoyed this nearly as much as Between Me and the Machine. The songwriting just felt so much more boring here, and it is what I'd call overproduced.

Listening to both Resolve albums because they are opening for Alpha Wolf and already probably the most out-of-place band on the lineup

Very far from groundbreaking or inventive, but solid enough. It rarely felt overproduced and the songwriting is generally great. I definitely recommend this to modern metalcore enjoyers.

Definitely their best album to date

Took them like 10 years of being a band, but they finally put out a project that can kind of stand out in metalcore, which is a promising step in the right direction. It's also mostly enjoyable. Still, I think something's lacking here, and it might just be the drumming. Some of the lyrics are also unforgivably corny.

The band continues to make music that is fine but does nothing to stand out

This is a very strange project, because the idea of an Alpha Wolf and Holding Absence split EP is admittedly very silly. I also would be lying if I didn't say the tone shift halfway through isn't a little jarring. Still, all four songs are great, and I think it was cool to see Lucas do some vocals on an AW track and see Lochie do some vocals on a HA track. So, it's like the overall listening experience doesn't work as well as the tracks individually. For what it is, though, ... read more

Definitely their best work. I think every song is a banger in its own way, and many of these songs are the most memorable from the band. It's the ultimate Alpha Wolf album. Skipless and very replayable. I still think they could pull off a more striking atmosphere if they tried more riffs beyond chugging, which is the main reason I couldn't quite put it in the 90s range.

It's a very unspecial metalcore album, and the choruses are often just bad.

Decent improvement in almost every way, but I still think there's just other metalcore that sounds similar to this that you could listen to instead. Sometimes reminded me of the first couple of LMTF records, for example.

Listening to every Gideon album because they open for Alpha Wolf.

This was ok but it was kind of painfully unremarkable. Didn't really do much for me.

Probably the first true Alpha Wolf project, being the first one with Lochie. I think they could be more creative with the riffs at times, but other than that, they really found a sound that works for them here and are only about to improve on it.

fucking insane

fucking insane

Getting into Mugshot since they open for Alpha Wolf and I see them live. This was a banger!

Revisiting Alpha Wolf since I'm seeing them live

Honestly, better than I remember. I think the lyrics here are especially something I've grown to appreciate, feeling very personal and vulnerable, but the problem here is that Aidan was not a good enough vocalist to carry some of the more vocally focused moments. The riffs and the drums are definitely the stronger elements of the record.

Still, massive fucking improvement over the debut EP.

After how underwhelmed I was by Empty Hands, I was definitely curious I would respond to this on relisten, and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed it even more than I thought. Kind of like most, if not all of the Poppy releases, my rating might be a little biased because I’ve listened to this so many times since it came out, but I do really fucking love this album, even if I do have some minor criticisms.

I have been becoming more polarized over Jordan Fish as a producer since this ... read more

Honestly, a major step down from Flux. Although it has grown on me a little on repeated listens, and while most of the songs are fine, this one always felt a little half-baked. There is still a lot of merit here, though, and I like all the songs except the title track.

It's pretty good but I can see why I don't revisit it very often