Another nasty, gruesome album from the band. I don't find it to be as completely locked in like Reign Supreme was, but as a compromise, we got a snare that doesn't sound like a ping-pong ball hitting the table.

... read more

Short, sweet and kicks you in the jaw like a fucking mule. As much as I would have loved to see a full album with this mixing and writing by the band, the three songs the band did give us is some of the best I've heard from them.

Yeah, their Meshuggah influence is pretty obvious, but it's different and entertaining enough for me to not care.

Dude will not leave my for you page and I don't know what that says about me.

Y2K Album Reflection - Part IV: (Rewrite/Update)

Rest In Piece D'Angelo. Genuinely tragic he died as young as he did.

I gave this quite a lukewarm reception when I first heard it, but that was because I needed to let it sit more. The greatness of this album is definitely in how low-key and SMOOTH it is. The combination of the angelic vocals, upbeat bass, and overall chill vibes makes this an album I appreciate more now than I did when I first heard it at the beginning of the year.

I was ... read more

Is it weird that I prefer this over Epicus Doomicus Metallicus? I feel like it is.

This just feel bigger and beefer and it has to do with how DENSE this album sounds. The reverb on the guitars is CRAZY and I love it. It makes this whole project sound evil and sinister, but in like a mustache twirling villain way because it's a bit corny but it's fun, so I give it a pass.

Also, Bewitched is on here. That song alone makes this a must-listen classic. COME ON!

A defining album in my life. American IV was one of the first albums I listened to in full because my dad has it on CD. He played it a lot whenever we would drive around in the deep country.

I've always loved how rich and full this album is. Cash's baritone vocals, the deep acoustic guitars, the background pianos/synths, and the absolutely wonderful surprise features. I forgot Fiona Apple has a cameo on Bridge Over Troubled Water and I wept when her voice came in.

It's been a ... read more

I'd like to apologize PHSYCHO-FRAME. I wasn't familiar with your game. Please don't skin my family alive.

I didn't love this on my first listen, but I found much more enjoyment on a second listen. This album is so fucking over the top it's absurd. It's some neanderthal shit combined with the most gruesome slasher you've ever seen.

Above all, it's produced really well. The chugs are deep and heavy, the vocals are loud, and the snare, the snare is ... read more

I wonder if Meshuggah collectively feels like Oppeheimer with how nearly every modern, mainstream metal band tries to copy their sound and continually never do it as well as they do.

Yeah, I would consider ObZen a classic metal record. It's arguably the most influential metal record since it came out, as there isn't quite any other band that dramatically changed the metal landscape like this one did.

While this wasn't the album that saw Meshuggah use 8-strings for the first ... read more

Do NOT throw me in the pit. I will get fucking mauled to death.

Disgusting, filthy, nasty. All of the disgusting verbs can be used to describe this project. Of course, they are used in a positive connotation. This is metalcore after all!

Short review for a short project:

A really filling and brutal project by the band. Blasts and slams are wild and left me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I tend to forget that Papyrus font at one time was seen as cool and edgy. Oh, how times change.

I feel like the album should have ended with Need, as The Flames of the End isn't quite the appropriate finish for this album. Still, this album is really great and a certified classic metal album. SO much fun and creativity are present within this thing, and omg the riffs are so good.

I also feel the need to comment how great the vocals are, an iconic and staple performance that would ... read more

Pretty standard, but pretty consistently good djent album. The album is mixed will enough to make it stand out among its peers as well, with nice, thick reverb on the guitars and drums that are upfront and impactful. Vocals I'm a bit more mixed on, but I do find them to work well within the context of the instrumentation.

Love the album cover a lot. If Orbit Culture is great at one thing, it is their album art.

“Kill them with kindness.”

Wrong.

🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗 LOCUSTS UPON YOUR CROPS 🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗

So, this album is absolute bonkers, and it is full force almost the entire time. Shit had me doing flips while I was listening to it.

I think it does outstay its welcome a bit. 50 minutes is quite long for an album like this, but I can't say it it's that big of an issue.

Eddie thinks he's hot shit until I Mikiri Counter his ass.

Didn't really like this one unfortunately. I find this album to just be a much weaker version of The Book of Souls. I do find there to be more good than bad on here and still ultimately think it is a good album, but a combination of weak production and it being 82 minutes hurts a lot.

The reverb on the guitar scratches my brain in just the right spot.

I was hoping to enjoy this more than did, but it is still a good project and a rare example of a supergroup working out. The whole project has this industrial vibe I think works to its benefit. It's dirty, nasty and pretty brutal. Love the vocals by Mikael Akerfeldt, it's always a treat to hear the growls in his prime.

The Book of Souls *looks inside* ... read more

I'm coming back to this one after letting it sit for a few months. After doing that, I'd like to update my thoughts a bit.

I don't think this is a perfect album. I think Ex Infernis is a pretty unnecessary transitional song, but I still find Hymns in Dissonance to be a marvel in modern deathcore and one of my favorite albums of 2025.

First off, this album kicks so much ass. The pure in-your-face-while-I-hit-you-with-a-hammer attitude this album prides itself on is great. Each ... read more

It's not bad at all, but it does outstay its welcome and I do find myself forgetting a lot of what I heard as soon as I'm onto the next song. I liked everything I heard, but I'm not really going to remember it.

Iron Maiden is still doing better than a lot of other legacy metal bands though, and that at the very least should be commended.

Crazy how this thing came out 34 years ago and slam bands still make music that sound exactly like it.

That's not a dig at this album by the way, it just shows how influential it is. It also helps that it's pretty good! Riffs and drums are brutal, vocals are hilariously vile and production is surprisingly decent.

I think this is another case of me enjoying the bands that were inspired and came after the inventors, but I still enjoyed this quite a bit.