I don't even know if I'm listening to an audible book, or an album. At least the album is slightly self-aware, "Brain Damage" would be the song and name to sum up most of this album. All the enjoyful aspects of the original have been stripped so bare to the point there is no joy in any of this project. It's an actual snooze fest.

There was one decent riff about two minutes, but that's about it. Really sounds like they're trying to balance their old-sound with this more metal adjacent, heavier side and it ends up coming out as tacky. Also the trap beats in the background are not it, I guess he got that idea from Sleep Token too.

Delicious

War of Being is not only innovative, but it's able to do it successfully in a year where it seems a lot of progressive metal artists are struggling to find their footing in its evolving sound.

I do have to give homage to TesseracT for serving as my introduction to metal; Without them, I would of not discovered so many artists not only within Metal, but outside of it. While I enjoyed most of TesseracT's projects, Sonder felt a bit flat to me, and lacked the innovation I expected from ... read more

Dan is making it very difficult for me to figure which one of the singles I like the best. War of Being probably is still my top choice but wow; the vocal display here is the most insane he's ever done. If the whole album keeps up, it'll easily be one of the best albums of the year.

While Unreal Unearth isn't the most consistent album, I think Hozier here has made his most poignant and well-crafted album yet. Hozier isn't a musician I invested a lot of time into, and honestly, I wasn't ever a big fan of Take Me Back to Church, but his debut had signs of his talent.

Hozier does a strong blend of pop-soul and singer-songwriter in many of these tracks; the instrumentation is beautiful, and his voice flawlessly shines. While some of these songs do feel a bit out of place in ... read more

I did see a review about this being 'tacky', but honestly I don't see that here. I think the biggest highlights so far with these two singles is the significant improvement in vocals; Daniel has always been a good vocalist, but he seems much more confident here (especially with his growls). I feel the pacing on this song is a bit better of WOB, although my only critique is the cinematic ending section does drag on a bit long. Still definitely a really good performance by TesseracT, and it's ... read more

Considering the fact somebody can make such good music off of iOS Garageband and crusty wired Apple earbuds is a testament to TheUmbranHammer's talent, because there is no way I'd be able to remotely pull off anything this good.

The fact each song has such a clear direction in what it's aiming for I think is really the greatest strength of these two songs, as it sets a very clear foundation to excel on. No, this isn't 'perfect', but I'd love to see more work from them, especially given how ... read more

Daniel Tompkins' voice is pretty much liquid gold, especially when it comes to prog. While I am a 'patient' listener, I tend to not like a lot of prog metal, usually as it ends up becoming overambitious and trying to one-up itself, and it loses that impact.

Regardless of how one feels about Prog, something about this single just tickles my brain in the right way. It's an interesting mix of traditional prog, laced with djent and neoclassical influences. However, I think the pacing on this is ... read more

I feel the Sophomore slump with this one.

Seeing Olivia Rodrigo push for a bit of a different sound however is a positive. Some of the riffs are actually pretty solid, and production is good overall. Honestly, it's pretty inoffensive. However, my biggest issue is the songwriting and repetitiveness with this song. It really lacks any direction, and comes off as quite generic and bland. Considering how it's more adventurous than her previous sound, it's quite odd to see it fall as flat as it ... read more

Led Zeppelin but it was recorded in a Dishwasher. That's an overused comparison, but in all seriousness, these guys have 5 million monthly listeners but I've never heard about them in my life. Considering most 'mainstream' music on this website gets bombed for the most part, I'm kind of surprised this album doesn't have more (negative) reviews already.

Greta Van Fleet takes a very heavy homage to the classic rock of the 1970s. I don't see an issue with that; sure, it's 100% on the nose and ... read more

Zola Blood is a guilty pleasure group of mine, embedded within twisting electronica with ambient/ethereal connections with a hint of Radiohead influence thrown in.

While there are many songs I enjoy on this album, it does meet some inconsistency with the tone/atmosphere, and some songs are so subdued that their soft/ethereal landscape becomes more of a droning hum, or a wondering ghost unsure of what direction to go. This album is a mixed bag, however, my slightly higher rating comes from the ... read more

Albeit with a few rough edges, Greentunnel's EP Debut here is oozing with Shoegaze/Post-Rock goodness, but they also incorporate stripped back, more organic ambient elements that differentiate them from the crowd.

This is a solid EP; production is tight, the distorted vocals and instrumentals compliment the soundscape very well, and songs organically evolve without rushing to the end, especially in the latter half of the EP. Their influences are just a bit on the nose, but their incorporation ... read more

I've definitely had some interest in Yeule's work, especially since I enjoyed much of Serotonin II. I do like this shoegaze influence/direction Yeule is taking with this single, but for me it doesn't seem to click. The instrumental on this however is really good and production is on point, but I feel the vocal delivery especially at the beginning didn't match as much with the atmosphere of the song as I'd like. Regardless, I'm definitely happy to see Yeule expanding her sound here, and excited ... read more

Daniel Tompkins really outdid himself on this one; The vocal performance, and the range is probably some of the best, if not the best to date he's released with TesseracT. Definitely a breath of fresh air. Sign of good things to come out of this album.

Post-rock is not my go-to genre; I very much appreciate it, but after sifting through its extensive discography (and run-times), I end up coming out inevitably exhausted. It seemed like an itch that could never be scratched, so I decided to put my attempts at getting into the genre away. That was until a friend recommended it to me out of the blue.

We both have similar tastes, but he has a much keener eye (in my opinion) for the truly 'great' stuff. He's the reason why I got into Bjork, and ... read more

While I haven't dabbled much in Fontaines D.C., Grian Chatten's solo debut piqued my interest. Chaos For the Fly, however, while it has some to offer, feels it falls a bit flat in execution.

The first front half of the album I think has the strongest tracks, but The Score could definitely deter some listeners with its unfinished sounding production and weak vocal performance. Songs like Bob's Casino and Fairlies are tight in production, and provide a lot of richness in their wake. Grian ... read more

I guess I'm in the trenches of underground Alternative Metal now because I had no idea this band existed until Spotify recommended it. Stoneside seems to take much of its influences from bands like Sleep Token, VOLA, Loathe, and Deftones all mashed up into one album. Since this is a smaller band, I felt reviewing each track would give some insight into what I thought, especially for listeners who may not have listened to these other groups.

Alternative Metal this year has taken quite a ... read more

I'm honestly kind of surprised Chelsea Wolfe doesn't receive as much attention as she deserves, especially with how seamless her atmospheric production can be combined with heavy instrumental gothic/sludge metal can be.

I think however the reason her appeal is so niche is because this album is dense; It's quite visceral and heavy, and for listeners who may not be used to metal (especially coming from Chelsea's previous works which weren't as on the nose about the influences), this could be ... read more

This is the only song I've ever heard where I'd prefer to listen to KIDZ BOP in a psychiatric ward where I'm tied down to a bed for 10 days straight than this disgusting attempt of a cash grab. Unironically probably the worst song I've ever heard.