Deadlights present a very interesting blend of metalcore sounds and ideas on The Uncanny Valley, taking inspiration from bands like Architects, Beartooth and Northlane. The album overall could use a bit more polish, but I will certainly keep an eye on this group to see if they further improve their craft.

FAVORITE TRACKS: The Uncanny Valley, Schedule 1, Frozen Over, Electrodrome, Born of a Lie
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Contact

Quite possibly the most average and generic pop rap album I've heard in a while.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Ain't Shit
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Naked

All noise, and no substance.

FAVORITE TRACKS: The Price You Pay (It Must Be Wearing Off)
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: More

Despite it being interesting to hear Idles try new ideas, some of which work nicely, the majority of CRAWLER lacks a lot of the punch and energy that I loved in previous albums from this group.

FAVORITE TRACKS: The Beachland Ballroom, Car Crash
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Meds

Formidable's 2021 Backlog (Episode 7)

Even if there are a few lulls on this project, The smooth and soothing flows of Boldy James and the features combined with The Alchemist's abstract and jazzy production really bring together a colorful variety of unique hip-hop songs that everyone should hear.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Photographic Memories, Flight Risk, Brickmile To Montana, Fake Flowers, Illegal Search & Seizure, First 48 Freestyle, Drug Zone
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Turpentine

Tricot's 上出来 presents some new and interesting song ideas while still keeping to their original sound throughout the project. A few tracks on here were lackluster, but overall yet another solid project from this Japanese math rock group.

(Note: I was also listening to this while extremely tired, so don't be surprised if my rating changes.)

FAVORITE TRACKS: スーパーサマー, 上出来, 夜の魔物, いない, いつも
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: 餌にもなれない

Formidable's 2021 Backlog (Episode 6)

SOUR is certainly not what I expected it to be in terms of sound direction, but the sappy lyric writing and same-y song structures apart from a few tracks don't really do much for me.

FAVORITE TRACKS: jealousy, jealousy
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: 1 step forward, 3 steps back

I caught onto Deviloof a year after their release of "Oni", which was an decent deathcore project that had some masterful highlights throughout. After hearing the singles for DYSTOPIA, I had a lot of high hopes for the rest of the project, and boy did they deliver. Not only is this their most consistent project to date, but you'll find some of the most unique and eclectic deathcore bangers on here that blend in elements of slam and regular death metal as well. If you're an avid fan of ... read more

This album will most likely and unfortunately go overlooked, but all the metalheads here need to give this one a shot!

Some of the band's singles prior to release came up for me in my YouTube recommended, and I was immediately stunned by their overall sound. Atlas brings in the classic, bone-breakingly heavy riffs we can expect from Nordic metalcore and djent, as as well as some massive soaring choruses that are almost symphonic to keep things interesting. There's even elements of Nordic folk ... read more

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. dltzk returns again in 2021 with a debut LP, and it's a massive step up from the Teen Week EP in every way possible.

FAVORITE TRACKS: kodak moment, movies for guys, how to lie, can you tell?, search party, let's go home, pretender, misplace
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: goldfish

A solid melodic death metal project, and my first hearing from Orbit Culture. Though the songwriting is lacking at some points, the execution and performances definitely aren't.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Carvings, A Sailor's Tale
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Mast of the World

There are plenty of strong moments across this album, especially in terms of songwriting. However, some tracks feel too similar to be memorable, and the semi-weak production really hurts the more emotional parts of the album from being more impactful.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Alive, as a Housefire; Trilogy, Iridescent
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Anhedonia

This was my first project I've heard from this band, and it's definitely a solid and well-rounded EP. The guitar riffs are chunky and brutal, and the drumming is absolutely manic throughout. The major downside for me is one that is purely subjective, but I was not at all a fan of the vocals. Otherwise, I highly recommend any and all metal fans to have a listen to this.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Permanent, Return to Passion, God Knows
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Where Light Divides the Holler

What, and I cannot emphasize this enough, did I just listen to?

This is probably one of the strangest albums I've heard all year. There were a handful of songs that were easy to digest and rate, but expect my rating to change frequently as I attempt to process this entire record.

Echo is of the band's most consistent albums in terms of keeping to their sound and not faltering one bit. However, it's definitely more of the same, and only a few tracks off this record are memorable.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Levee, Fighting Gravity
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Anchor

The final leg (haha get it) of the kick series come to a close, and it's a strangely beautiful one.

Arca with the fifth installment goes back into a more ambient and minimalist sound, but in my opinion it far outweighs the ideas presented in kick iiii and a few tracks from KICK ii. While it does have a bit of a slow and maybe even boring start, It really picks up a few tracks in with a sound that's simultaneously elegant yet eerie. It's hard to describe, so I recommend listening to the project ... read more

On the fourth day of kick-mas, Arca gave to me... a mildly okay quirky ambient pop record.

After being blown away by KicK iii, it's always a question of "where is she going to go next?" On this project, we get Arca at her most deconstructed, delving into a much more disjointed and even ambient sound. Some ideas like Xenomorphgirl pan out really well, but just like with KICK ii, most of the track list here doesn't really do much for me. Again it just sounds like it's leaning too much ... read more

Now this is more like it!

Continuing on the "Kick" journey, I was mildly disappointed with KICK ii since it didn't bring much to the table for me in terms of overall soundscape and creative ideas. However, KicK iii is the massive turnaround that brought my hype back up. This project is loaded with hard deconstructed club bangers from front to back, and it even infuses elements of IDM and hip-hop in certain tracks. It has also further messed with my end-year list, so thanks ... read more

The Arca Kick series continues in 2021... and honestly I'm not understanding this one.

I can definitely see the appeal of this album, with the first leg of the project putting a unique twist on Latin musical genres. Plus there's plenty of quirky deconstructed club sounds to be had across its entirety, and I'm usually into the genre as a whole. However, nothing apart from the penultimate two tracks of this album really did anything for me. A lot of the time it either sounds very underwhelming ... read more

The only thing more pissed than Gordon Ramsay on a Hell's Kitchen episode is this debut EP from ten56. The bombastic production and guitars tuned to drop Satan makes the Doom OST sound like relaxation music in comparison.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Kimo, Boy, Exit Bag, Diazepam, Shitspitter
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Sick Dog