Lion_XII

We're here for the riffs and they deliver but that's all you get. Even the vocals are fuzzed out.

Weird Tales - A couple are good.

Barbarian - I want to like it.

Hills Have Eyes - tries to be funky but short-lived throwaway.

We Hate You - Heaviest hitting.

Dopethrone - 75/100

Mind Transferal - 0/100 - guitar tone needs to be more fuzzed out, super annoying, and then minutes of silence.

Even as a prog fan, an hour plus track is daunting. Total vibe but also, it really is one long track. One might split it into 3 acts but the plot is so strained that it doesn't make a difference except where they slow down to take another hit. It both feels like it's building to something but never going to get anywhere, which perhaps fits perfectly for the album. Looking up the lyrics helps if you're sober, but the lore is unintelligible.

Hot Lava Man was significantly more ... read more

What a way to open an album. The riffs are sick but it's more fun than badass. I started losing interest halfway through and the title track was not a strong closer for me.

It's undeniably Ozzy but not the Black Sabbath that defined genres. It doesn't have as much to say as Paranoid, either from Ozzy or the rest of the band, nor is at as heavy. Playing it safe shouldn't be safe.

Thankfully, Solitude is bookended by Lord of This World and Into the Void.